Papers by Luis Miguel Zapata Alvarado
Revista chilena de …, 2009
Introduction: OPD (Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis) is a recently introduced semistructur... more Introduction: OPD (Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis) is a recently introduced semistructured and operationalized method of personality evaluation and diagnosis in developing countries. This preliminary report assess the impact of intensive training on OPD's criterion validity and inter rater reliability. Method: 15 psychotherapists recently introduced to OPD's theory and scoring procedures, rated a clinical interview during an 120 hours intensive training. Three months after training, they were asked to rate the same interview. Results: Concerning criterion validity, training doesn't impact on agreement with expert judgment, but it does on psychotherapeutic relevant items. Concerning inter-rater reliability our data matched already published studies, e.gr. inter-rater reliability of Axis I and IV improves significatively after training.
This study focuses on the implementation and demonstration of the Real Time Path Planner (RTPP). ... more This study focuses on the implementation and demonstration of the Real Time Path Planner (RTPP). It is an AI guidance system that was developed for an operational DoD unmanned aerial target control system. The RTPP is tested using the 6-DOF target simulator of Drone Formation Control System (DFCS). The RTPP uses the A* algorithm to generate the obstacle free routes. The data used for the A* graph, which represents the terrain map, was obtained from the National Elevation Dataset. UAV flight trajectories developed by this system undergo testing in a DoD flight simulator. An MQM-107D simulated drone is used for the testing. The partition size of the terrain map is varied within the study to obtain an optimal partition size. These tests analyze the flight trajectories produced by the RTPP, and the effect of varying the A* and the UAV parameters. This study demonstrates that the RTPP produces safe and maneuverable routes for the MQM-107D. Results are confirmed by time plots of key flight parameters recorded during the 6-DOF UAV simulation runs. The time plots show that the target did not have any difficulty flying the computer-generated pattern. It also shows that the target flew over benign terrain as predicted by the RTPP to reach its destination. This study demonstrates the innovative benefits and functionality added by Intelligent Systems theory to the real-time path planning and navigation task via the DFCS system. The RTPP works as designed, producing safe and flyable flight patterns for the drone.
Advances in Geosciences, 2013
High mountains divide Costa Rica, Central America, into two main climate regions, the Pacific and... more High mountains divide Costa Rica, Central America, into two main climate regions, the Pacific and Caribbean slopes, which are lee and windward, respectively, according to the North Atlantic trade winds-the dominant wind regime. The rain over the Pacific slope has a bimodal annual cycle, having two maxima, one in May-June and the other in August-September-October (ASO), separated by the midsummer drought in July. A first maximum of deep convection activity, and hence a first maximum of precipitation, is reached when sea surface temperature (SST) exceeds 29 • C (around May). Then, the SST decreases to around 1 • C due to diminished downwelling solar radiation and stronger easterly winds (during July and August), resulting in a decrease in deep convection activity. Such a reduction in deep convection activity allows an increase in down welling solar radiation and a slight increase in SST (about 28.5 • C) by the end of August and early September, resulting once again in an enhanced deep convection activity, and, consequently, in a second maximum of precipitation. Most of the extreme events are found during ASO. Central American National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) have periodic Regional Climate Outlook Fora (RCOF) to elaborate seasonal predictions. Recently, meetings after RCOF with different socioeconomic stakeholders took place to translate the probable climate impacts from predictions. From the feedback processes of these meetings has emerged that extreme event and rainy days seasonal predictions are necessary for different sectors. As is shown in this work, these predictions can be tailored using Canonical Correlation Analysis for rain during ASO, showing that extreme events and rainy days in Central America are influenced by interannual variability related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation and decadal variability associated mainly with Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Analyzing the geographical distribution of the ASO-2010 disaster reports, we noticed that they did not necessarily agree with the geographical extreme precipitation event distribution, meaning that social variables, like population vulnerability, should be included in the extreme events impact analysis.
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Papers by Luis Miguel Zapata Alvarado