Knowledge Identification for Personnel Allocation to Research Projects: A Proposal Methodology

Today, knowledge has been acknowledged as an important source of competitive advantage and value creation for organizations. The leveraging of individual knowledge in an organization is important to improve its competitiveness and internal processes. The proposal presented in this work is oriented to organizations that develop research projects and need employees with the skills and competencies necessary for their development. This is difficult because the people in charge of personnel allocation to research projects do not always have the sufficient knowledge for doing an efficient allocation. The objective of this article is proposing a methodology that allows the identification of key knowledge of the employees that can be available for the people in charge of personnel allocation to research projects. A first conceptual approach, based on literature review and the comparison with other similar works, allows proposing a methodology focused in five key phases. This proposal will allow the organizations to identify, capture and disseminate key employees’ knowledge to make it available when it is needed. Keywords: Knowledge Management, Knowledge Identification, Key Knowledge, Human Resource Management, Personnel Allocatio

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Venezuelans during the 2020 epidemic:An online cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 threatens health systems worldwide, but Venezuela's system is particularly vulnerable. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, individuals must adopt preventive behaviors. However, to encourage behavior change, we must first understand current knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) that inform response to this health threat. METHODS: We explored KAPs among Venezuelans using a cross-sectional, internet-based questionnaire. The questionnaire explored individuals' knowledge about COVID-19; their attitudes toward the world's and the Venezuelan authorities' abilities to control it; and their self-reported practices. We also collected demographic data. Binomial logistic regression analyses were used to predict the adoption of preventive behaviors based on demographic variables, individual knowledge level, and individual attitudes. RESULTS: 3122 individuals completed the questionnaire. Participants had a high level of knowledge about COVID-19. They expressed high levels of optimism that the world would eventually control COVID-19, but they were very pessimistic about the public authorities in Venezuela. Most participants adopted preventive practices. Binomial regression suggests younger people, less educated people, and manual laborers hold lower levels of knowledge, and these groups, as well as men, were less likely to adopt preventive practices. Knowledge, by itself, had no association with optimism and little association with self-reported practices. CONCLUSIONS: As other KAP studies in Latin America found, knowledge is not sufficient to prompt behavior change. Venezuelans' pessimism about their own country's ability should be explored in greater depth. Health promotion in Venezuela may wish to target the most at risk groups: men, younger people, less educated people, and manual laborers

Regional Variations in Physical Fitness and Activity in Healthy and Overweight Ecuadorian Adolescents

Background: Insufficient physical activity (PA) and excessive sedentary behavior (SB) are the main contributors to adolescent obesity. However, it is uncertain whether recent economic growth and urbanization in Ecuador are contributing to an obesogenic environment. This study assessed the relationships among fitness, PA, SB, and perceived social support for PA in adolescents from urban (Quito) and rural (Loja) Ecuador. Methods: Fitness was estimated using 3-min step test and PA and SB participation and social support for PA were self-reported in 407 adolescents. T-tests and analysis of variance assessed differences by sex, obesity status, and region of Ecuador. Pearson correlations assessed relationships among PA, SB, fitness, and social support. Results: Males and rural adolescents (48.3 ± 9.4 and 47.1 ± 9.6 mL/kg/min) were more fit than females and urban adolescents (41.1 ± 7.5 and 39.7 ± 6.1 mL/kg/min). Fitness was negatively correlated with obesity only in rural Ecuador. Few adolescents reported ≥60 min/day of PA (8.4%) or ≤2 h/day of SB (30.2%), with greater SB participation in rural Ecuador. Weak correlations were observed among fitness, PA, SB, and parental/peer support for PA (r = −0.18 to 0.19; p \u3c 0.05). Conclusion: While fitness varied by sex, weight status, and region, SB participation and parent/peer support for PA, not PA participation itself, predicted fitness in rural Ecuadorean adolescents

2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador

Background: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis is the main triatomine vector of Chagas disease, American trypanosomiasis, in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. Genomic approaches and next generation sequencing technologies have become powerful tools for investigating population diversity and structure which is a key consideration for vector control. Here we assess the effectiveness of three different 2b restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD) genotyping strategies in R. ecuadoriensis to provide sufficient genomic resolution to tease apart microevolutionary processes and undertake some pilot population genomic analyses. Methodology/Principal findings: The 2b-RAD protocol was carried out in-house at a non-specialized laboratory using 20 R. ecuadoriensis adults collected from the central coast and southern Andean region of Ecuador, from June 2006 to July 2013. 2b-RAD sequencing data was performed on an Illumina MiSeq instrument and analyzed with the STACKS de novo pipeline for loci assembly and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) discovery. Preliminary population genomic analyses (global AMOVA and Bayesian clustering) were implemented. Our results showed that the 2b-RAD genotyping protocol is effective for R. ecuadoriensis and likely for other triatomine species. However, only BcgI and CspCI restriction enzymes provided a number of markers suitable for population genomic analysis at the read depth we generated. Our preliminary genomic analyses detected a signal of genetic structuring across the study area. Conclusions/Significance: Our findings suggest that 2b-RAD genotyping is both a cost effective and methodologically simple approach for generating high resolution genomic data for Chagas disease vectors with the power to distinguish between different vector populations at epidemiologically relevant scales. As such, 2b-RAD represents a powerful tool in the hands of medical entomologists with limited access to specialized molecular biological equipment. Author summary: Understanding Chagas disease vector (triatomine) population dispersal is key for the design of control measures tailored for the epidemiological situation of a particular region. In Ecuador, Rhodnius ecuadoriensis is a cause of concern for Chagas disease transmission, since it is widely distributed from the central coast to southern Ecuador. Here, a genome-wide sequencing (2b-RAD) approach was performed in 20 specimens from four communities from Manabí (central coast) and Loja (southern) provinces of Ecuador, and the effectiveness of three type IIB restriction enzymes was assessed. The findings of this study show that this genotyping methodology is cost effective in R. ecuadoriensis and likely in other triatomine species. In addition, preliminary population genomic analysis results detected a signal of population structure among geographically distinct communities and genetic variability within communities. As such, 2b-RAD shows significant promise as a relatively low-tech solution for determination of vector population genomics, dynamics, and spread

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Three Latin American Countries:Reasons Given for Not Becoming Vaccinated in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela

Although vaccines have been developed to prevent COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy is a significant barrier for vaccination programs. Most research on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has blamed misinformation and misstated concerns about effectiveness, safety, and side effects of these vaccines. The preponderance of these studies has been performed in the Global North. Although Latin American has been substantially and negatively impacted by COVID-19, few studies have examined COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy there. We explored reasons volunteered for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy from a sample of 1,173 Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Venezuelans. Overall, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in these three countries is higher than desirable, but most people who are COVID-19 vaccine hesitant offered one reason or fewer. The reasons offered are diverse, including myths and exaggerations, but also individual-level contraindications for vaccination and structural barriers. Because of the diversity of reasons, single-issue mass campaigns are unlikely to bring about large shifts in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Our data suggest that interpersonal communication, particularly in Ecuador, and addressing structural concerns, particularly in Venezuela, are likely to have the greatest impact on vaccine uptake

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Metabolic Syndrome and Pre-Diabetes in Adolescents in the Sierra Region of Ecuador

Background: Excess weight (overweight and obesity) is the major modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and other non-communicable diseases. However, excess weight may not be as predictive of diabetes risk as once thought. While excess weight and other obesity-related non-communicable diseases are of growing concern in low-middle income countries in Latin America, there is limited research on risk factors associated with T2DM in adolescents. This study investigated prevalence of overweight, obesity, prediabetes, diabetes and metabolic syndrome in adolescents in Ecuador. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 433 adolescents from two schools in a small urban center in southern Ecuador and two schools in a large urban center in Quito. Risk factors were measured, including: height, weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting glucose, lipid panel, and HbA1c. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was separately applied to risk factors and demographic factors as a set of dependent variables with sex, location and their interaction included as predictors. An independent t test was run on the data at 95% confidence intervals for the mean difference. The values for the triglycerides, LDL and VLDL were positively skewed. A Mann–Whitney U test was run on these data. Results: Using IOTF standards, 9.8% were overweight and 1.9% were obese. Only 1.6% of the sample met the criteria for prediabetes by fasting glucose but 12.4% of the sample met the criteria for prediabetes by HbA1c. None of the participants met criteria for diabetes. There were 2.3% of the participants that met the IDF criteria for metabolic syndrome. Adolescents from the larger urban center had higher rates of prediabetes, higher mean HbA1c, blood pressure, lipid values, and lower HDL levels. Conclusions: Use of HbA1c identifed more adolescents with prediabetes than FBG. The HbA1c measure is an attractive screening tool for prediabetes in developing countries. Although rates of obesity in Ecuadorian adolescents are low there is significant evidence to suggest that prediabetes is permeating the smaller urban centers. Traditional screening tools may underestimate this risk

Absence of domestic triatomine colonies in an area of the coastal region of Ecuador where Chagas disease is endemic

Rhodnius ecuadoriensis is considered the second most important vector of Chagas disease in Ecuador. It is distributed across six of the 24 provinces and occupies intradomiciliary, peridomiciliary and sylvatic habitats. This study was conducted in six communities within the coastal province of Guayas. Triatomine searches were conducted in domestic and peridomestic habitats and bird nests using manual searches, live-bait traps and sensor boxes. Synantrhopic mammals were captured in the domestic and peridomestic habitats. Household searches (n = 429) and randomly placed sensor boxes (n = 360) produced no live triatomine adults or nymphs. In contrast, eight nymphs were found in two out of six searched Campylorhynchus fasciatus (Troglodytidae) nests. Finally, Trypanosoma cruzi DNA was amplified from the blood of 10% of the 115 examined mammals. Environmental changes in land use (intensive rice farming), mosquito control interventions and lack of intradomestic adaptation are suggested among the possible reasons for the lack of domestic triatomine colonies

Dimensionalidad de un ítem único de preocupación por el cáncer mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales

The study aims to analyze the influence of the latent variable cancer concern (PPC) on the measurement of the single item Cancer Worry Chart (CWC) through the method of structural equations (SEM). 165 healthy adults with a family history of cancer participated (Mage = 40.25 years; SD = 12.99), who attended the outpatient clinic of health institutions in Peru. The CWC has a predominance of responses that express less concern about cancer (M = 2.27; SD = .98). The use of SEM reports very good adjustment rates for the model (SB-χ2 = .0051; gl = 1; p = .943; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA [IC90%] = .00 [.00, .04]; SRMR = .007), with a factor load of .949 and communality of .90. The PPC construct explains 90% of the variability of the CWC scores. This finding provides complementary evidence of CWC construct validity.El estudio tiene como objetivo analizar la influencia de la variable latente preocupación por el cáncer (PPC) sobre la medida de ítem único Cancer Worry Chart (CWC) a través del método de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM). Participaron 165 adultos sanos con historia familiar de cáncer (Medad= 40.25 años; DE= 12.99), que asistían a la consulta externa de instituciones de salud de Perú. El CWC presenta un predominio de respuestas que expresan una menor preocupación por el cáncer (M= 2.27; DE = .98). El uso de SEM, reporta índices de ajuste muy buenos para el modelo (SB-χ2 = .0051; gl = 1; p = .943; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA [IC90%] = .00 [.00, .04]; SRMR = .007), con una carga factorial de .949 y comunalidad de .90. El constructo PPC explica el 90% de la variabilidad de los puntajes del CWC. Este hallazgo brinda evidencia complementaria de validez de constructo del CWC

Psychometric evidence of a new short version in Spanish of the COVID-19 impact scale: A study based on confirmatory factor analysis, graded response model, multigroup analysis, and path analysis

"The aim of the study was to translate and evaluate the psychometric evidence of the Spanish version of the COVID19 impact scale in the general population of Peru, to measure psychological stress responses produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, including emotional responses and difficulty in performing activities of daily living. Participants were 601 Peruvians, who responded to an online survey consisting of questions designed to collect sociodemographic data, the CIS and the fear of COVID-19 scale. The forward and backward translation method was used to translate the English version into Spanish. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), graded response model was used to estimate the discrimination (a) and difficulty (b) parameters of the items. Multi-group CFA was used to assess measurement invariance. Regarding validity based on the validity in relation to other variables, an explanatory model was proposed using the SEM path method. The unidimensional structure of the 10-item CIS was not confirmed. Therefore, it was suggested that a six-item model of the CIS (CIS-6) provides a better fit and reliable score. The multigroup CFA showed that the CIS-6 does not exhibit measurement invariance between males and females. In addition, the CIS-6 items present adequate discrimination and difficulty indices. A higher presence of the latent trait (in this case, perception of the impact of COVID-19) is required to answer the higher response categories. The findings would help to assess those individuals more prone to the impact of the COVID19 pandemic and to have evidence for the development of interventions aimed at decreasing the impact.