Now showing 1 - 10 of 368
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    Item type:Publication,
    From Simulation to Reality: A Digital Twin Implementation of a 4-DOF Robotic Manipulator
    (2025)
    Bryan S. Guevara
    ;
    ;
    Viviana Moya
    ;
    Angéelica Veróonica Quito Carrióon
    ;
    Marcelo Ortiz
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    From Simulation to Reality: A Digital Twin Implementation of a 4-DOF Robotic Manipulator
    (2025)
    Bryan S. Guevara
    ;
    ;
    Viviana Moya
    ;
    Angéelica Veróonica Quito Carrióon
    ;
    Marcelo Ortiz
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    Item type:Publication,
    Invasion Status, Distribution, and Environmental Preferences of Non-Native Ornamental Thunbergia Species (Acanthaceae) in Ecuador: An Emerging Threat to Tropical Montane Forests
    (2026)
    Ana Reyes-Hernández
    ;
    Ileana Herrera
    ;
    Anahí Vargas
    ;
    ;
    Josue Alvarez
    Species of the genus Thunbergia, native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, are widely cultivated as ornamental plants; however, their ability to escape cultivation and establish themselves in novel environments poses a growing threat to tropical forests. Here, we provide the first nationwide assessment of Thunbergia species occurring in Ecuador, integrating data from citizen science platforms, herbarium collections, and field surveys. We analyzed spatiotemporal patterns of occurrence, evaluated invasion status based on wild persistence and spread, and assessed environmental preferences using climatic niche analyses. Species distributions were further examined across land-cover types, conservation areas, and forest–non-forest interfaces. We confirmed the presence of five Thunbergia species in Ecuador, two of which also occur in the Galapagos Islands. All species were recorded both in cultivation and in the wild, indicating ornamental horticulture as the main introduction pathway for the genus, and occurrences were documented within 24 conservation areas. Thunbergia alata, T. fragrans, and T. grandiflora were categorized as invasive in Ecuador. Among them, T. fragrans exhibited broad environmental tolerance across bioregions. Wild occurrences were predominantly associated with human-modified landscapes but frequently occurred near forest edges, indicating ongoing encroachment into natural forests. These findings highlight the urgent need for preventive and targeted management strategies, particularly against T. alata, which represents an emerging threat to Andean forest ecosystems.
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    From Simulation to Reality: A Digital Twin Implementation of a 4-DOF Robotic Manipulator
    (2025)
    Bryan S. Guevara
    ;
    ;
    Viviana Moya
    ;
    Angéelica Veróonica Quito Carrióon
    ;
    Marcelo Ortiz
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    From Simulation to Reality: A Digital Twin Implementation of a 4-DOF Robotic Manipulator
    (2025)
    Bryan S. Guevara
    ;
    ;
    Viviana Moya
    ;
    Angéelica Veróonica Quito Carrióon
    ;
    Marcelo Ortiz
  • Some of the metrics are blocked by your 
    Item type:Publication,
    Development of a Convolutional Neural Network for Detection of Ovarian Cancer Based on Computed Tomography Images
    (2024)
    Gabriela Narvaez-Chunillo
    ;
    Ronny Ordoñez-Sanchez
    ;
    Lizbeth Ortiz-Vinueza
    ;
    Diego Almeida-Galárraga
    ;
    Fernando Villalba-Meneses
    Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent gynecologic malignancies in women, but it is often detected in late stage, leaving patients with little time to follow a successful therapy. Specialists have opted to use computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) for the detection of ovarian cancer through the analysis of computed tomography (CT) images, in which the professional examines the size, shape and different characteristics that enable a precise diagnosis in the ovary. This present project purposes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) which consist on four convolutional layers; including two pooling layer and two fully-connected layer. The cancerous ovaries images is selected from the Cancer Imaging Achive dataset for training and validation of the model. Moreover, the training of the CNN contain filters to ensure that all of the images are the same dimensions and pixel size. The testing results from the training of the images showed that the proposed model obtained a range of accuracy that goes from 90.0% to the best of the cases 98.85%. The variables obtained like the data of the pressure and loss of the training were compared with those of the validation, allowing for the determination of a successful CNN training.
      15
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    Item type:Publication,
    Scale reduced to value the sense of coherence: SOC 15 [Escala Reducida Para Valorar el Sentido de Coherencia: SOC 15]
    (2019)
    Ortiz-Granja D.
    ;
    Acosta-Rodas P.
    ;
    Lepe-Martínez N.
    ;
    Valle M.D.
    ;
    Introduction: The sense of coherence is a construct of health that allows the individual to face difficult situations of life. It is configured by three factors: meaning, understanding and management. As a method of assessment of this construct, has been proposed the SOC scale with 29 items in its original version. Objective: The objective of this study is to propose a reduced SOC scale. Methods: We worked with a sample of 445 healthy participants from Quito-Ecuador, 145 men (32.5%) and 300 women (67.4%). Results: It was obtained that the reduced scale of 15 items presents an adequate internal consistency in its three factors: understanding α= .74, management α= .82 and meaning α= .82. In the confirmatory factor analysis, an acceptable adjustment of the reduced model was found (SOC-15) x2= 317.90, DF= 87, p= <. 001, CFI= .92, RMSEA= .07 (.06-.08) and SRMR= .04. Conclusions: The data is discussed in relation to the benefits of counting with a reduced scale for its future application in the clinical and health scientific context. © 2019 Fundacion para la difusion neurologica en Ecuador - FUNDINE. All rights reserved.
      19
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    Neural networks meet PID control: Revolutionizing manipulator regulation with gravitational compensation
    (2025)
    Marco Moran-Armenta
    ;
    Jorge Montoya-Cháirez
    ;
    Francisco G. Rossomando
    ;
    Emanuel Slawiñski
    ;
    Vicente Mut
    This research proposes an innovative approach to improve the performance of regulation control systems in manipulators by combining PID control with gravitational compensation using neural networks. In this work, a modified PID control structure that incorporates a gravitational compensation term given by a neural network is introduced, thus allowing a more precise and adaptive response to gravitational and dynamic perturbations of the system. Furthermore, the controller's performance is evaluated through real-time experiments in two manipulators, comparing its performance with the same structure, one without integral action, another without neural compensation and the last one assuming that the gravity vector is known. The results show a significant improvement in system regulation accuracy, demonstrating the proposed controller's effectiveness.
      21
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    Item type:Publication,
    Dragon Ball Z, The Legendary Tribes: A Gamified Experience in English
    (2024)
    Harry Chica
    ;
    Marcos Chacón-Castro
    ;
    Gamification is a methodology as well as a ludic medium that is growing in popularity and is increasingly used to motivate students and enable active learning. The objective of this research is to design and evaluate a contextualized gamification such as “Dragon Ball Z” to improve the communicative skills of students in a high school in Colombia at A1 level of English. This study used a mixed non-experimental design approach, where an intervention was conducted with a sample of 22 high school students, divided into 4 groups (tribes). For the application, interactive digital tools were used in a series of 26 sessions composed of activities divided into “missions”, which allowed students to acquire English skills in a playful and participatory way. Students’ progress was assessed using rubrics and qualitative data were collected. Finally, it was shown to be a successful strategy for learning English; this methodology generated a playful, motivating and enriching environment, which promoted student participation, interest and meaningful learning. The results support the importance of using this type of strategies in language teaching, and suggest that contextualizing learning methods to the students’ current context can improve their academic performance and classroom participation.
      12
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    Item type:Publication,
    Cognitive and emotional predictors of self-regulated learning: a structural model based on executive functions, learning strategies, and sense of coherence
    (2025) ;
    Jennifer Obregón
    ;
    Nancy Lepe-Martínez
    ;
    Milenko Del Valle
    ;
    Brenda Guerrero-Tates
    Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is a complex process that enables university students to consciously manage their learning and achieve strong academic performance throughout their academic career. This process is influenced by various factors, particularly within the cognitive and emotional domains. Specifically, SRL is shaped by variables such as Executive Functions, Sense of Coherence, and Learning Management Strategies. In this study, we hypothesized that Conscious Monitoring of Responsibilities, Supervisory Attentional System, Deliberate Emotion Regulation, Manageability, Meaningfulness, and Conscious Motivational Strategies contribute significantly to the variance observed in SRL. Two explanatory models were proposed to represent the dynamic relationships among these variables. The study involved a sample of 1316 university students from two Latin American countries: Chile (n = 631, Mage=20.18, SD=2.06) and Ecuador (n = 685, Mage=20.71, SD=1.99). Three scales were used to assess the variables included in the models, each demonstrating acceptable to strong internal consistency (α=0.70 to 0.85). The results revealed moderate to strong correlations among the variables (r = 0.27 to 0.64). The explained variance of SRL was 24% for the emotional and 30% for the cognitive dimensions. Both proposed models demonstrated adequate fit indices (CFI=0.96, RMSEA=0.05, SRMR=0.04), supporting the structural validity of the models. These findings suggest that SRL is the result of a complex interaction between cognitive and emotional factors. The models proposed in this study offer a valuable foundation for the development of targeted interventions aimed at enhancing SRL in university students and, consequently, improving their academic performance
      22