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The consumption of batteries and cooking oil have been increasing. Most used batteries are disposed of incorrectly, leading to health and environmental problems because of their composition. In a similar form, cooking oil, once used, is often released by the discharge reaching the wastewater, polluting soil, and water, which affects its treatment. In Ecuador, these environmental passives are recollected and stored without further treatment, which is a temporary and unsustainable solution. To address this issue, the circular economy concept has gained increasing attention. In this study, zinc oxide was prepared from discarded batteries using the hydrometallurgical method to use as a catalyst; it achieved 98.49% purity and 56.20% yield and 20.92% of particles presented a particle size of 1–10 nm. Furthermore, the catalyst morphology was investigated in an SEM, which showed that particle size ranged from 155.69 up to 490.15 nm and spherical shapes. Due to its characteristics, the obtained catalyst can be used in the industry instead of the zinc oxide obtained by mining processes. These processes are known to produce heavy contamination in the ecosystems and human health. Additionally, a zinc oxide lifecycle in the environment was analyzed through a material flow analysis (MFA), taking into consideration two paths, one assuming the disposal of used batteries and the other assuming the recycling of zinc. Biodiesel was produced with a heterogeneous catalyst. This took place with a transesterification reaction with used cooking oil, ethanol, and zinc oxide (ZnO) as catalysts. The biodiesel obtained had the following characteristics: 37.55 kJg−1 of heating power, 0.892 gcm−3 of density, 4.189 mm2/s of viscosity, 0.001% of water content, and a 70.91% yield. Furthermore, the energy consumption in biodiesel production was quantified, giving a total of 37.15 kWh. This kind of initiative prevents that waste from becoming environmental pollutants and potential health risks by giving them a second use as a resource. Moreover, turning waste into a valuable product makes the processes self-sustaining and attractive to be implemented.

Solid-state lighting technology, such as LED devices, is critical to improving energy efficiency in street lighting systems. In Ecuador, government policies have established the obligation to exclusively use LED systems starting in 2023, except in special projects. Ecuador, known for its vast biodiversity, protects its national parks, which are rich in flora, fauna and natural resources, through international institutions and agreements such as UNESCO, CBD and CITES. Although reducing electrical consumption usually measures energy efficiency, this article goes further. It considers aspects such as the correlated color temperature in the lighting design of protected areas, light pollution and the decrease in energy quality due to harmonic distortion. Measurements of the electromagnetic spectrum of the light sources were made in an area in the Galápagos National Park of Ecuador, revealing highly correlated color temperatures that can affect ecosystem cycles. In addition, the investigation detected levels of light pollution increasing the night sky brightness and a notable presence of harmonic distortion in the electrical grid. Using simulations to predict the behavior of these variables offers an efficient option to help preserve protected environments and the quality of energy supply while promoting energy savings.

Se presenta un modelo basado en la metodología MAGERIT que permite gestionar los riesgos de seguridad informática de los servicios web de una empresa. Para este propósito se determinaron los activos de información con sus posibles amenazas y el impacto que estas tendrían si se materializaran, luego se identificó las salvaguardas de los activos y se realizó la detección de vulnerabilidades en los servicios web mediante el uso de la herramienta gratuita VEGA. Finalmente, se determinó el nivel del riesgo que a futuro permitirá al personal de tecnologías tomar mejores decisiones. En el resultado del análisis de vulnerabilidades de los servicios web se identificaron como más frecuentes: SQL Injection, PHP Error Detected y Directory Listing Detected, entre otras, con lo que al aplicar el modelo propuesto se redujo un 87.87% las vulnerabilidades altas encontradas y se eliminaron el 12.13% de las mismas.

Education is to a human right and a fundamental element for the development of societies; access to higher education has become one of the priority problems of the rulers of a country, with a view to the constant search for legislative reforms, creation of equity, increase in the percentages of university enrollment and the elimination of exclusionary gaps. This research analyzes the characteristics of enrollment in higher education in Ecuador, characteristics such as: Type of financing, location and geographical coverage, fields or areas of knowledge demanded, gender participation, analysis with a focus on careers related to the field of knowledge of engineering, industry, information technology and construction. The methodology applied is a theoretical-practical study, with a quantitative research approach. The results obtained indicate that 60% of the national enrollment corresponds to public universities and polytechnic schools and are located in the provinces geographically more extensive and with greater economic resources. Finally, it is determined that 50% of the enrollment in the field of study of engineering, industry, telecommunications and construction is grouped in three provinces of Ecuador: Guayas, Pichincha and Manabí and in 8 universities and polytechnic schools, where the majority presence of men persists.

This research arises from the need to know the elements that have an impact on the audiovisual competencies of adolescents during the confinements provoked to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The purpose is to diagnose the development of audiovisual communication skills among Ecuadorian adolescents as a contribution to sustainability, based on the intervention of educational actors. The methodology is qualitative, with a descriptive approach. The instruments used were: focus groups with parents, students, and teachers from public and private institutions in Ecuador; semi-structured interviews with experts: and non-participant observation. It can be concluded that adolescents acquire audiovisual skills, processes, and languages autonomously before entering college, but they do so without the social context, ethical values and responsibilities that should be part of complete media learning. The demands of online learning during the pandemic have resulted in the development of skills and attitudes, but they have not led to full media literacy. It is pertinent to provoke innovations and updates in the curricula of higher education, specifically in the careers of social communication, in order to be aware of the technological changes on the basis of deontological principles and in favour of democratic values, tolerance, and responsibility with the sustainability of nature and people.

In this study, the sizing problem of hybrid diesel–photovoltaic–battery systems was determined using a particle swarm optimization approach. The goal was to optimize the number of solar panels and batteries that could be installed to reduce the overall cost of an isolated grid system, originally powered by diesel generators, located on Isabela Island in the Galapagos, Ecuador. In this study, real solar radiation and temperature profiles were used, as well as the load demand and electrical distribution system relative to this island. The results reveal that the total cost for the proposed approach is lower as it reaches the global optimal solution. It also highlights the advantage of a hybrid diesel–photovoltaic–battery (DG-PV-BAT) system compared to conventional systems operated exclusively by diesel generators (DGs) and systems made up of DGs and PV panels; compared to them, a reduction in diesel consumption and total cost (71% and 56%, respectively) is achieved. The DG-PV-BAT system also considerably improves environmental factors and the quality of the power line. This study demonstrates the advantages of hybridizing systems isolated from the network through the proposed approach.

Analyzing plant phenology and plant–animal interaction networks can provide sensitive mechanistic indicators to understand the response of alpine plant communities to climate change. However, monitoring data to analyze these processes is scarce in alpine ecosystems, particularly in the highland tropics. The Andean páramos constitute the coldest biodiversity hotspot on Earth, and their species and ecosystems are among the most exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Here, we analyze for the first time baseline data for monitoring plant phenological dynamics and plant–pollinator networks along an elevation gradient between 4,200 and 4,600 m asl in three mountain summits of the Venezuelan Andes, which are part of the GLORIA monitoring network. We estimated the presence and density of plants with flowers in all the summits and in permanent plots, every month for 1 year. Additionally, we identified pollinators. We calculated a phenological overlap index between species. We summarized the plant–pollinator interactions as a bipartite matrix and represented a quantitative plant–pollinator network, calculating structural properties (grade, connectance, nestedness, and specialization). We also evaluated whether the overall network structure was influenced by differences in sampling effort, changes in species composition between summits, and phenology of the plant species. Finally, we characterized the pollination syndrome of all species. Flowering showed a marked seasonality, with a peak toward the end of the wet season. The overall phenological overlap index was low (0.32), suggesting little synchrony in flowering among species. Species richness of both plants and pollinators decreased along the elevation gradient. Flies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds were the most frequent pollinators in the network, while entomophily and anemophily were the prevailing pollination syndromes. The interaction network in all summits showed high connectance values, significant specialization (H2), and low nestedness. We did not find a significant effect of sampling effort, summit plant species composition, or plant phenology on network structure. Our results indicate that these high tropical alpine plant communities and their plant-pollination networks could be particularly vulnerable to the loss of species in climate change scenarios, given their low species richness and functional redundancy coupled with a high degree of specialization and endemism.

La mayoría de los cultivares tradicionales de papa no están adaptadas a las condiciones del cultivo provocadas por el cambio climático, que hacen disminuir drásticamente los rendimientos e incluso perder completamente la cosecha en muchos lugares desfavorecidos. En países en vías de desarrollo, como en Latinoamérica, esta situación afecta a la base alimentaria de las comunidades, y al sostenimiento económico y social; los agricultores optan por migrar en búsqueda de otros medios de subsistencia.