Sustainable improvement and evaluation of the shifting smoothness of vehicle transmission

Energy savings and environmental protection are the only way for the sustainable development of the automotive industry. The poor shifting performance of automobile transmission may reduce the driver's driving pleasure and make the driver feel tired. In addition, improper shifting would also increase fuel consumption. Therefore, in view of the importance of improving the shift performance of vehicle transmission, GSA testing technology was employed for the existing shift quality problems of commercial vehicles to continuously realize high shifting efficiency and low fuel consumption. Through the establishment of subjective and objective evaluation criteria of the experimentally determined shift performance of commercial vehicles, a reliable theoretical basis is provided for product optimization design and shift performance evaluation. As a result, the shift control strategy and optimization matching measures are formulated to ensure that the power, smoothness and transmission of the whole vehicle system meet the technical requirements and finally achieve a rapid and stable gearshift. Thus, this work unveils the high potential of improving the shift performance and quality of the whole vehicle and is expected to have an impact on reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the relevant automotive industry, contributing to the establishment of a more sustainable society.

How Does Mobile Page Speed Shape in-between Touchpoints in the Customer Journey? A Research Regarding the Most Trusted Retailers in Romania

In the digital age, retailers face umpteen challenges, finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil the customer requirements. Studying the most trusted online stores in Romania, the authors aimed to identify the opportunities and the challenges for retailers in the connected consumer’ journey, analyzing the page load speed of the in-between touchpoints in the pre-check-out phase on smartphones. In this regard, comparative analysis and content analysis were performed, taking into consideration eight performance indicators, namely, first content paint, first input delay, largest contentful paint, cumulative layout shift, performance score, speed index, time to interactive, and total blocking time. Three platforms were used to run the tests, the generated data allowing the identification of the necessary enhancements to ensure a continuous consumer journey. The study revealed that the selected in-between touchpoints need major improvements to provide a satisfying consumer experience on a smartphone. The scientific contribution of this article consists of presenting 14 opportunities designed for retailers. By implementing them, for every 0.1 s saved, the conversion rate can increase by 8% due to emotional mitigation with technological performance improvements. The page speed shapes the customer journey, the retailers gaining the users’ trust by avoiding a long waiting time between the touchpoints.

Modeling of transport and technological processes of cultivation and harvesting agricultural crops

The productivity of technological processes in agriculture is determined by the set of transport and technological means used. The article describes the models for the unification of shift performance, taking into account a wide range of agricultural cargoes and a large number of works on their movement in the process of cultivation and harvesting of agricultural crops. A step-by-step modeling of scenarios for the use of transport and technological means was carried out on the basis of the optimality criterion and forecasting the period of agricultural work. They confirmed that the objective function is of theoretical and practical interest, as it helps to determine the optimal values of the power of technical means, depending on the combination of production conditions. The numerical value of power obtained by calculation can serve as a guide for manufacturers of agricultural machinery in the development of promising vehicles for a specific consumer, depending on the availability of resources and production and economic conditions.

A Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Study of a Multi-Component Lighting Intervention for Hospital Shift Workers

Simple lighting solutions may mitigate the harmful effects of shiftwork. This hybrid effectiveness–implementation study evaluated a multi-component lighting intervention in hospital nurses that included 6500 K architectural lighting in the nurses’ station plus optional behavioral components (a lightbox, blueblocker glasses, eyemasks) with instruction about appropriately timed usage. Selective improvements from baseline were observed in on-shift performance, sleep quality, and caffeine consumption in day workers (all p < 0.05); off-shift sleepiness scores improved for night workers (p < 0.05). Further, self-reported measures of quality of life improved for both groups (p < 0.05). Preliminary implementation data from interviews and questionnaires suggest perceived benefits and high acceptability of the intervention.

Scheduled afternoon–evening sleep leads to better night shift performance in older adults

ObjectivesThis study investigated whether an intervention designed to reduce homeostatic sleep pressure would improve night shift performance and alertness in older adults.MethodsNon-shift workers aged 57.9±4.6 (mean±SD) worked four day (07:00–15:00) and four night shifts (23:00–07:00). Two intervention groups were instructed to remain awake until ~13:00 after each night shift: the sleep timing group (ST; n=9) was instructed to spend 8 hours in bed attempting sleep, and the sleep ad-lib group (n=9) was given no further sleep instructions. A control group (n=9) from our previous study was not given any sleep instructions. Hourly Karolinska Sleepiness Scales and Psychomotor Vigilance Tasks assessed subjective sleepiness and performance.ResultsThe ST group maintained their day shift sleep durations on night shifts, whereas the control group slept less. The ST group were able to maintain stable performance and alertness across the initial part of the night shift, while the control group’s alertness and performance declined across the entire night. Wake duration before a night shift negatively impacted sustained attention and self-reported sleepiness but not reaction time, whereas sleep duration before a night shift affected reaction time and ability to sustain attention but not self-reported sleepiness.ConclusionsA behavioural change under the control of the individual worker, spending 8 hours in bed and waking close to the start of the night shift, allowed participants to acquire more sleep and improved performance on the night shift in older adults. Both sleep duration and timing are important factors for night shift performance and self-reported sleepiness.