Centro de Investigación de Ciencias Humanas y de la Educación
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Effects of a dual intervention (motor and virtual reality-based cognitive) on cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial

2024 , Buele, Jorge , Avilés-Castillo, Fátima , Carolina Del-Valle-Soto , Varela Aldas, José , Guillermo Palacios-Navarro

Abstract Background The increase in cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) underlines the urgency of finding effective methods to slow its progression. Given the limited effectiveness of current pharmacological options to prevent or treat the early stages of this deterioration, non-pharmacological alternatives are especially relevant. Objective To assess the effectiveness of a cognitive-motor intervention based on immersive virtual reality (VR) that simulates an activity of daily living (ADL) on cognitive functions and its impact on depression and the ability to perform such activities in patients with MCI. Methods Thirty-four older adults (men, women) with MCI were randomized to the experimental group (n = 17; 75.41 ± 5.76) or control (n = 17; 77.35 ± 6.75) group. Both groups received motor training, through aerobic, balance and resistance activities in group. Subsequently, the experimental group received cognitive training based on VR, while the control group received traditional cognitive training. Cognitive functions, depression, and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) were assessed using the Spanish versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-S), the Short Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-S), and the of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL-S) before and after 6-week intervention (a total of twelve 40-minutes sessions). Results Between groups comparison did not reveal significant differences in either cognitive function or geriatric depression. The intragroup effect of cognitive function and geriatric depression was significant in both groups (p < 0.001), with large effect sizes. There was no statistically significant improvement in any of the groups when evaluating their performance in ADLs (control, p = 0.28; experimental, p = 0.46) as expected. The completion rate in the experimental group was higher (82.35%) compared to the control group (70.59%). Likewise, participants in the experimental group reached a higher level of difficulty in the application and needed less time to complete the task at each level. Conclusions The application of a dual intervention, through motor training prior to a cognitive task based on Immersive VR was shown to be a beneficial non-pharmacological strategy to improve cognitive functions and reduce depression in patients with MCI. Similarly, the control group benefited from such dual intervention with statistically significant improvements. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06313931; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06313931.

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Experience of Using PBL and Gamification as an Active Methodology in Time of Pandemic in Ecuador

2023 , Manuel G.J.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, the use of innovative and attractive strategies within educational environments has been demonstrated, where teaching is focused on the student, in the development of skills. These strategies conceive learning as a constructive and motivating process. To do this, a topic that generates great interest in the current educational scenario was analyzed: the active methodologies applied within the current situation experienced by the pandemic; which is eminent because through its use it is possible to continue with the teaching/learning process between teacher and student in difficult times such as those currently experienced by society in general. The objective is to know the experiences of teachers in the application of PBL and Gamification as strategies of active methodologies in the teaching process. The methodology is qualitative approach. The sample consisted of 15 teachers from the Sierra del Ecuador educational system. The survey technique was applied. In conclusion, it has been confirmed that the application of active methodologies encourages students to learn, in a practical way, useful and concrete knowledge that they will usually find in their daily context and curiosity about learning is rewarded. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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A theoretical study of the electronic properties of hydrogenated spherical-like SiC quantum dots with C-rich and Si-rich compositions

2024 , Ojeda-Martínez M. , Thirumuruganandham S.P. , Baños A.T. , Figueroa, J.L.C.

Quantum dots have many potential applications in opto-electronics, energy storage, catalysis, and medical diagnostics, silicon carbide quantum dots could be very attractive for many biological and technological applications due to their chemical inertness and biocompatibility, however, there are seldom theoretical studies that could boost the development of these applications. In this work, the electronic properties of hydrogenated spherical-like SiC quantum dots with C-rich and Si-rich compositions are investigated using density functional theory calculations. The quantum dots are modeled by removing atoms outside a sphere from an otherwise perfect SiC crystal, the surface dangling bonds are passivated with H atoms. Our results exhibit that the electronic properties of the SiC-QD are strongly influenced by their composition and diameter size. The energy gap is always higher than that of the crystalline SiC, making these SiC QD's suitable for applications at harsh temperatures. The density of states and the energy levels show that the Si-rich quantum dots had a higher density of states near the conduction band minimum, which indicates better conductivity. These results could be used to tune the electronicproperties of SiC quantum dots for optoelectronic applications. © 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

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Determining of university desertion: survival analysis

2022 , Núñez-Naranjo, Aracelly Fernanda

University desertion is the subject of analysis by several authors over the years. The different causes for which a student abandons his studies and the ways to reduce it, entail the interest of the study. The research was positive with a quantitative approach. The data collection was carried out through a survey, and an observation sheet to the student’s files, we proceeded with the analysis of the Kaplan Meier survival curve, on a base made up of 1078 undergraduate students enrolled in the first semester. in 2014 with follow-up to 2019. It is concluded that the existing university dropout factors are personal and social. The incident variables are age, gender, marital status, region, school, family, venue, modality, homologation, and career. There are no significant differences in ethnicity, school, age and quintile, averages. © 2022, Associacao Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao. All rights reserved.

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A Simple Method for Implementation of a Solar Oven for Lumber Drying

2024 , Escudero-Villa P. , Pachacama A. , Núñez-Sánchez J. , Topón-Visarrea L.

In Ecuador, the small and medium-sized wood industries dedicated to the manufacture of boards use a form of natural drying, which takes six months to two years depending on the moisture content, the type of wood, and the thickness. In regular bases, the natural drying process requires six months to obtain dry wood that can be processed to final products, which causes delays in the delivery of production batches and loss of time, affecting the internal economy. In this work, we present a design for a simple implementation of a solar oven to dry wood and derivatives. For this objective, we included the oven chamber physical dimensioning, the requirements and thermodynamic analysis, and a comparison with the standard traditional method. The oven was dimensioned to keep a range of temperature from 15 to 45° in a chamber of . The result of this design allows a time saving of 66.67% and profits of 304% per month for a standard wood processed. These results are possible due to the specific geographical location and climate of Ecuador, which directly influence the effectiveness of a solar oven. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.

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Mobile Manipulator for Hospital Care Using Firebase

2022 , Varela Aldas, José , Buele, Jorge , Guerrero-Núñez S , Andaluz V.H.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the use of the technology in medicine is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The use of the robotics in the treatment of diseases and physical therapies is limited in Latin America due to the high acquisition and maintenance costs. This document proposes the design, development, and evaluation of a robotic system for the guided monitoring of patients, through remote control using a mobile application. Within the methodology, four phases were proposed: planning, design, development, and evaluation. The 3D design is done using the Tinkercad software, which facilitates the construction of the pieces using 3D printing technology. The ESP32 board is the main element that receives the signals from the sensors and controls the actions of the actuators through the orders received from Firebase. For the development of the application, App inventor is used, building a friendly and easy-to-use interface. To validate this proposal, experimental tests were carried out with two patients in a medical center. In addition, a parameter compliance questionnaire was applied to the robot, obtaining a score of 92.6%, and the mobile application obtained 72.5% in the usability test. All this confirms an efficient care proposal, with a reduced investment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Optimal cooperative control of mobile robots based on Pontryagin's Minimum Principle

2022 , Varela Aldas, José

This work presents the cooperative control with optimization for positioning of mobile robots based on Pontryagin's Minimum Principle. The problem to be solved is the minimum energy related to the control actions of the robots. The objective function is subject to the equations of states of the triangular formation of the 3 mobile robots and is restricted to boundary conditions that include the desired form parameters. The mathematical model of the system is based on the kinematic transformation of the position of the robots towards the parameters of the formation. To solve the differential equations obtained, the shooting method is programmed for two initial value problems. The results show the evolution of the robots' positions and the positioning errors that tend to zero, validating this proposal through simulation. In addition, the control actions allow determining the energy index to compare it with a previous work, achieving a lower value. © 2022 IEEE.

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Development of a Scale Prototype of Smart Bed Controlled Using a Mobile Application

2022 , Soberon J.C. , Gamboa G. , Castillo F. , Palacios-Navarro G. , Varela Aldas, José

The need for a technological system for health care for sick people is evident. This work develops a scale prototype of a smart bed controlled through a mobile application. The electronic design consists of two servomotors that act to position the bed; these actions can be activated through the mobile application. At the same time, the patient can be monitored by a camera and an infrared thermometer that sends the data to the application through the Internet. The local operating code is designed so that the position of the bed changes automatically according to a preset sequence. The electronic system is based on the ESP32 board; this chip integrates WiFi communication that allows the connection of the bed with the cloud-based in Firebase. Temperature tests were carried out with the help of people to ensure that the data taken was correct. In addition, bed positions and reception of camera images were tested on a mannequin. As a result, adequate communication was obtained between the mobile application and all the devices installed in the smart bed. Finally, an acceptance test is applied that validates this proposal with a good score. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Educational strategies in the resolution of school conflict among adolescents [Estrategias educativas en la solución de conflictos escolares entre adolescentes]

2023 , Remache-Bunci M.G. , Ponce N.V.R. , Beatriz Hortencia Cóndor Quimbita

The purpose of the research was, on the one hand, to establish the relationship between the variables that make up the components of conflict, strategies and coexistence actions; on the other hand, determine the actions of coexistence, more akin to the strategies used by teachers. Due to the nature of school coexistence, students interact with positive and negative attitudes, provoking behaviors and conflicts of different nature and intensity. Therefore, the role of teachers is to generate solutions to conflicts. The research design was quantitative and descriptive with a non-experimental correlational level. The objects under review were the students from ninth and tenth grade of Basic General Education in the city of Quito. The instrument for data collection was the survey, it was structured according to the variables, dimensions and indicators. The data processing was carried out with the support of the SPSS software and the results allowed: to answer the research questions, Is there a linear relationship between the components conflicts, strategies and coexistence actions? What are the coexistence actions that are most related to the strategies used by teachers in conflict resolution? it concludes with, the existence of a relationship between the conflict components, strategies and actions of coexistence. According to the perception of those surveyed, the strategies most used by teachers were to make the approach to conflict resolution viable; while the coexistence actions with the greatest relationship were: the participation of students and teachers in the establishment of norms, expression and regulation of emotions, work within the class curriculum, education in values, cooperation in class activities, due to the significance established in the results. © 2023, Universidad Compultense Madrid. All rights reserved.

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A comparison in the teaching of programming for development kits with IoT

2022 , Varela Aldas, José , Miranda M. , Palacios-Navarro G.

Education 4.0 promotes programming at all training levels, making block programming a compatible alternative, including developing applications with hardware. This paper compares UIFLOW and Arduino IDE in programming the M5Stack Core2 development kit for education. The designed task allows students to read, locally view, send, and remotely view the inertial sensor data integrated into the device. The programming in UIFLOW application uses block programming; this software is for the M5stack kits. To program in C code using Arduino IDE is need to install the necessary libraries for compatibility with M5Stack. Students of computer science engineering implement the program using both programming languages. The compared data are development times and acceptance of the participants. The results show the coding times of the program and the scores obtained in the acceptance test, determining faster times in the case of block programming and a better acceptance rate that demonstrates the advantages of using this language in programming education. © 2022 IEEE.

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