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Modular construction is an innovative new construction method that minimizes waste and improves efficiency within the construction industry. However, practitioners are hampered by the lack of environmental and economic sustainability analysis methods in this area. This study analyzes the embodied carbon emissions and direct construction costs incurred during the production phase of a modular residential building and provides comparison to an equivalent conventional residential building. Major drawings and design details for a modular residential building in South Korea were obtained, and the quantity take-off data for the major construction materials were analyzed for a modular construction method and a conventional construction method using a reinforced concrete structure under the same conditions. Focusing on major construction materials during the production phase, the embodied carbon emissions assessment revealed that adopting a modular construction approach reduced the environmental impact by approximately 36%, as compared to the conventional reinforced concrete method. However, in terms of the direct construction cost, the modular construction was approximately 8% more expensive than the conventional reinforced concrete construction method.

The purpose of this study was to identify the major wastes generated during the construction phase using a life cycle assessment. To accomplish this, the amount of waste generated in the construction phase was deduced using the loss rate and weight conversions. Major construction wastes were assessed using six comprehensive environmental impact categories, including global warming potential, abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential. According to the analysis results, five main construction wastes—concrete, rebar, cement, polystyrene panel, and concrete block—comprehensively satisfied the 95% cutoff criteria for all six environmental impact categories. The results of the environmental impact characterization assessment revealed that concrete, concrete block, and cement waste accounted for over 70% of the contribution level in all the environmental impact categories except resource depletion. Insulation materials accounted for 1% of the total waste generated but were identified by the environmental impact assessment to have the highest contribution level.

The competence enhancement of college students is the overarching objective of curriculum construction and reform, which is crucial for the construction of first-class majors and disciplines. Principles of Genetic Engineering is an important professional course for the students of Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering that are the national first-class construction majors at Guizhou Medical University in China. To increase the personalized self-directed and mutual learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in biomedical science and engineering, an innovative teaching was designed to implement a vivid and interactive learning mode based on online and offline platform, smart teaching tools and scientific research achievements. After multiple rounds of teaching practice, continuous improvement and iterative updates, a 'three-stage and three-guidance' learning model was established to integrate pre-class, in-class, and post-class stages under the guidance of self-learning, question and research. In result, this curriculum was identified as the provincial 'Golden Course' and the average overall satisfaction rate for students reached 96.88%. Totally, this pattern can motivate students' intrinsic passion and interests in learning and enhance their scientific research thinking, innovation ability, teamwork and comprehensive skills in solving practical problems, supporting that the effective curriculum reform can promote the cultivation of high-quality talents and support the construction of first-class majors and disciplines.

The investment in Major Construction Projects (MCPs) has a counter-cyclical impact on quantitative GDP increases during the recession period. However, its impact on the quality of economic growth is still unknown. Based on the data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2017, we construct an economic Quality Growth Index (QGI) including sustainable development factors and take the PPP (Public–Private Partnership projects) policy as a quasi-natural experiment to design a Difference-In-Differences (DID) strategy for the first time to estimate the effects of the MCPs investment on the sustainable development of regional economies. We find that the MCPs investment can significantly improve the quality of regional economic growth. The MCPs investment can improve the quality of regional economic growth by enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship at the regional levels. Our findings may provide empirical evidence to support the policy of increasing investment into infrastructure constructions to promote sustainable development in the current economic recession under the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study employs probabilistic analysis to evaluate the life cycle embodied environmental cost of Korean apartment buildings, with a focus on six major construction materials. To this end, the bill of materials was analyzed for 443 Korean apartment buildings according to the type and plan form, and probability density functions (PDFs) were established for the input quantities of the six materials under consideration. Life cycle scenarios were then examined for each material, and their respective life cycle embodied environmental cost factors were established, using a monetary valuation-based damage cost life cycle analysis model. The estimated environmental costs were evaluated by apartment structural type and plan form, based on probability distributions using the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Building life cycle embodied environmental cost was estimated between 16.87 USD/m2 and 23.03 USD/m2 (90% confidence interval). Among the structure types analyzed, the highest costs were associated with the wall structure, followed by rigid frame and flat plate structures; at the plan form level, costs followed the sequence plate-type > mixed-type > tower type for a given type of structure.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a novel human-computer interaction technology, and its rapid development has led to a growing demand for skilled BCI professionals, culminating in the emergence of the BCI major. Despite its significance, there is limited literature addressing the curriculum design for this emerging major. This paper seeks to bridge this gap by proposing and discussing a curricular framework for the BCI major, based on the inherently multidisciplinary nature of BCI research and development. The paper begins by elucidating the primary factors behind the emergence of the BCI major, the increasing demand for both medical and non-medical applications of BCI, and the corresponding need for specialized talent. It then delves into the multidisciplinary nature of BCI research and offers principles for curriculum design to address this nature. Based on these principles, the paper provides detailed suggestions for structuring a BCI curriculum. Finally, it discusses the challenges confronting the development of the BCI major, including the lack of consensus and international collaboration in the construction of the BCI major, as well as the inadequacy or lack of teaching materials. Future work needs to improve the curriculum design of the BCI major from a competency-oriented perspective. It is expected that this paper will provide a reference for the curriculum design and construction of the BCI major.

The present paper considers the modern approaches and developments on improving the management of investments in construction, inextricably intertwined with the enhancement of cooperation between the two major parties - designers and builders. The implementation of the project could involve several dozens of subcontractors in addition to the general contractor. It is possible to attract specialized construction organizations only when the nature and amount of special works in the construction of specific objects is known, and the final technical documentation is available.

The development of the data era has put higher requirements for college art courses, but the imperfect evaluation system of practical teaching of college art courses has become a stumbling block to the flourishing development of college art. Based on the decision tree model, this paper proposes constructing the optimal decision tree using pruning techniques. The optimized decision tree is adopted to explore the differences in the construction of art majors in universities under the condition of normal major certification and feedback on the influence of normal major certification on art majors through the evaluation results. From the analysis of the three index examples, the mean values of cognitive evaluation, pedagogical evaluation, and effectiveness evaluation of art courses were 2.527, 4.756, and 3.267, respectively, indicating the best evaluation in the pedagogical evaluation of art courses, but the cognitive evaluation was slightly lower. Normal major certification significantly influences the construction of art majors in colleges and universities. The decision tree model can also guide the innovation direction of college art courses more intuitively through data so that the evaluation system of college art courses can enjoy the development dividend of the new technology era.

Ecological monitoring is a complementary component of the overall environmental management and monitoring program of any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The monitoring method should be developed for each project phase and allow for periodic reporting and assessment of compliance with the environmental conditions and requirements of the EIA. Also, this method should incorporate a variance request program since site-specific conditions can affect construction on a daily basis and require time-critical application of alternative construction scenarios or environmental management methods integrated with alternative mitigation measures. Finally, taking full advantage of the latest information and communication technologies can enhance the quality of, and public involvement in, the environmental management program. In this paper, a landscape-scale ecological monitoring method for major construction projects is described using, as a basis, 20 months of experience on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Crude Oil Pipeline Project, covering Turkish Sections Lot B and Lot C. This analysis presents suggestions for improving ecological monitoring for major construction activities.