Papers by Alexis Hernandez
Surgical site infections (SSI) can develop post-operatively and carry significant clinical and fi... more Surgical site infections (SSI) can develop post-operatively and carry significant clinical and financial implications. SSI can carry a cost of up to $30,000 per case, as well as an estimated 6 day longer hospitalization. Patients with Type II Diabetes (DM) have an increased susceptibility to infection and suffer from poor bone healing overall. Therefore, diabetic patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery risk both an increased chance of developing an SSI as well as suboptimal bone healing. Vancomycin and other antibiotics have traditionally been used prophylactically to prevent infection, however the effect of vancomycin on bone healing in a diabetic population has not been well documented. Periosteum derived osteoblasts were treated with BMP-2, and vancomycin concentrations of 0 ug/mL, 5 ug/mL, 50 ug/mL, 500 ug/mL, and 5,000 ug/mL. The purpose of this work was to examine the effects, if any, that vancomycin had on periosteum derived osteoblast precursor functions including cal...
Frontiers in Digital Health
Although US tobacco use trends show overall improvement, social disadvantage continues to drive s... more Although US tobacco use trends show overall improvement, social disadvantage continues to drive significant disparities. Traditional tobacco cessation interventions and public policy initiatives have failed to equitably benefit socially-disadvantaged populations. Advancements in mobile digital technologies have created new opportunities to develop resource-efficient mobile health (mHealth) interventions that, relative to traditional approaches, have greater reach while still maintaining comparable or greater efficacy. Their potential for affordability, scalability, and efficiency gives mHealth tobacco cessation interventions potential as tools to help redress tobacco use disparities. We discuss our perspectives on the state of the science surrounding mHealth tobacco cessation interventions for use by socially-disadvantaged populations. In doing so, we outline existing models of health disparities and social determinants of health (SDOH) and discuss potential ways that mHealth interv...
The journal of mental health administration, 1985
Each year thousands of persons in the U.S. become victims of disasters. These disasters can be pe... more Each year thousands of persons in the U.S. become victims of disasters. These disasters can be personal or mass in nature. A personal disaster is an unforeseen event which results in immediate and major change in material, social, or health status. The victims of a personal dis~ aster are typically limited in number an individual, a family, close friends, or a few unrelated persons. A mass disaster is similar to a personal disaster except in regard to the number of victims. In a mass disaster, the impact of the event is felt by a wider community of persons. Multiple individuals, a number of families, or perhaps a whole town become the victims. While the nature of personal or mass disasters is similar, their consequences and the types of responses and interventions they call for differ. This article concentrates on mass disasters. The effects of mass disasters, the role of CMHCs in disaster intervention, current status of CMHCs in regard to disaster preparedness, and recommendat ions regarding disaster p lanning are demonstrated. The impact of disasters has been reported primarily in regard to material losses; secondly, by their social consequences; and lastly, by their psychological impact. The latter two aspects consistently receive less attention than the former. The psychological needs of disaster victims and how these needs are being met will be the focus of this article. When a disaster occurs, help is needed not only to meet physical needs, but also emotional needs. The emotional needs support, counseling, crisis intervention, therapy I may be less obvious, but no less important than physical needs. When a disaster occurs, survivors collectively experience marked disruption of their everyday lives. Individuals are required to respond in unprecedented ways. This may create stress or aggravate existing problems. People who need help often can't or won't admit it, requiring mental health professionals to actively reach out to them. The National Institute of Mental Health has echoed this concern by supporting legislation for the delivery of mental health services to disaster victims. Section 413 of the Federal Disaster Relief.Act of 1974 authorizes the provision of financial assistance to local and state agencies
Investigaciones Geograficas, Dec 1, 2013
The research focuses on revealing the main morphotectonic expressions of relief, as a contributio... more The research focuses on revealing the main morphotectonic expressions of relief, as a contribution to the study of moderate seismicity of territory. Morphostructural analysis combined with results of analysis of structures, to mesoscopic scale, provide elements of the preferred direction of the tectonic forces that determined the contemporary re-][ Investigaciones Geográficas, Boletín
Forensic Science International: Genetics, 2016
Investigaciones Geográficas, 2013
The research focuses on revealing the main morphotectonic expressions of relief, as a contributio... more The research focuses on revealing the main morphotectonic expressions of relief, as a contribution to the study of moderate seismicity of territory. Morphostructural analysis combined with results of analysis of structures, to mesoscopic scale, provide elements of the preferred direction of the tectonic forces that determined the contemporary re-8 ][ Investigaciones Geográficas, Boletín 82, 2013
Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 2008
Sixteen autosomal SNPs were selected to differentiate major populations in Australia. A SNP multi... more Sixteen autosomal SNPs were selected to differentiate major populations in Australia. A SNP multiplex assay was developed for the inference of biogeographical ancestry.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1991
This article presents the development and preliminary validation of the Cross-Cultural Counseling... more This article presents the development and preliminary validation of the Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory (CCCI), a measure based on the American Psychological Association Division 17 Education on and Training Committee's tridimensional characteristics of cross-cultural counseling competence-beliefs/attitudes, knowledge, and skills (Sue et al, 1982). Three studies investigated the instrument's content validity, interrater reliability, and factor structure. The first study established substantial agreement among judges when classifying items according to the tridimensional characteristics. In the second study, judges reached adequate levels of interrater reliability after viewing cross-cultural counseling vignettes. The third study found a 3-factor orthogonal solution of crosscultural counseling skill, sociopolitical awareness, and cultural sensitivity. The authors discuss the utility of the instrument in counseling supervision and research.
Changes in membrane fluidity of gilthead seabream Sparus auratus L., 1758 hepatocytes subjected to
Physical Review Letters, 2009
The nonlinear electronic transport properties of a ballistic Aharonov-Bohm ring are investigated.... more The nonlinear electronic transport properties of a ballistic Aharonov-Bohm ring are investigated. It is demonstrated how the electronic interaction breaks the phase rigidity in a two-probe mesoscopic device as the voltage bias is increased. The possibility of studying interference effects in the nonlinear regime is addressed. The occurrence of magnetic field symmetries in higher order conductance coefficients is analyzed. The results are compared with recent experimental data.
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2007
This is a review of the derivation of the Landauer conductance using the Keldysh non-equilibrium ... more This is a review of the derivation of the Landauer conductance using the Keldysh non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism and the equations-of-motion (EOM) method. We consider the elastic quantum electronic transport through a multi-lead device and treat the conductor in the mean-field approximation. This is suitable for open quantum dots as well as for several molecular systems where charging effects
Nuclear Physics B, 2002
We study compact non-supersymmetric Z N orbifolds in various dimensions. We compute the spectrum ... more We study compact non-supersymmetric Z N orbifolds in various dimensions. We compute the spectrum of several tachyonic type II and heterotic examples and partially classify tachyonfree heterotic models. We also discuss the relation to compactification on K3 and Calabi-Yau manifolds.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2012
Mitochondrial genomes are generally thought to be under selection for compactness, due to their s... more Mitochondrial genomes are generally thought to be under selection for compactness, due to their small size, consistent gene content, and a lack of introns or intergenic spacers. As more animal mitochondrial genomes are fully sequenced, rearrangements and partial duplications are being identified with increasing frequency, particularly in birds (Class Aves). In this study, we investigate the evolutionary history of mitochondrial control region states within the avian order Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos). To this aim, we reconstructed a comprehensive multi-locus phylogeny of parrots, used PCR of three diagnostic fragments to classify the mitochondrial control region state as single or duplicated, and mapped these states onto the phylogeny. We further sequenced 44 selected species to validate these inferences of control region state. Ancestral state reconstruction using a range of weighting schemes identified six independent origins of mitochondrial control region duplications within Psittaciformes. Analysis of sequence data showed that varying levels of mitochondrial gene and tRNA homology and degradation were present within a given clade exhibiting duplications. Levels of divergence between control regions within an individual varied from 0-10.9% with the differences occurring mainly between 51 and 225 nucleotides 3 0 of the goose hairpin in domain I. Further investigations into the fates of duplicated mitochondrial genes, the potential costs and benefits of having a second control region, and the complex relationship between evolutionary rates, selection, and time since duplication are needed to fully explain these patterns in the mitochondrial genome.
Mineralium Deposita, 1995
The Las Cuevas mercury deposit is located in the northern part of the Almadén district, Ciudad Re... more The Las Cuevas mercury deposit is located in the northern part of the Almadén district, Ciudad Real, Spain. It displays characteristic epigenetic features. A reinterpretation of the geological context of the deposit and a detailed structural analysis indicate that the host rocks at Las Cuevas belong to the same stratigraphic units that host the old Almadén mine, but that they
Kidney International, 1996
Relative effects of PTH and dietary phosphorus on calcitriol production in normal and azotemic ra... more Relative effects of PTH and dietary phosphorus on calcitriol production in normal and azotemic rats. In moderate renal failure, the serum calcitriol level is influenced by the stimulatory effect of high PTH and the inhibitory action of phosphorus retention. Our goal was to evaluate the relative effect that high PTH levels and increased dietary phosphorus had on calcitriol production in normal rats (N) and rats with moderate renal failure (Nx). Normal and Nx (3/4 nephrectomy) rats were divided into two groups: (1) rats with intact parathyroid glands (IPTG) and (2) parathyroidectomized rats in which PTH was replaced (PTHR) by the continuous infusion of rat 1-34 PTH, 0.022 rg/hr/100 g body wt, using a miniosmotic Alzet pump. To test the effect of dietary phosphorus, rats received either a moderate (MPD, 0.6% P) or a high phosphorus (HPD, 1.2%) diet for 14 days. The experimental design included pair-fed N and Nx rats with either IPTG or PTHR. Serum calcitriol and PTH levels in N rats fed a MPD were 69 3 and 40 5 pg/mI, respectively. In Nx rats on a MPD, serum calcitriol levels decreased only if hyperparathyroidism was not allowed to occur (76 4 vs. 62 4 pg/mI in Nx-IPTG-MPD and Nx-PTHR-MPD groups respectively, P < 0.05). Even in N rats on a HPD, high PTH levels (67 8 pglml in the N-IPTG-HPD group) were required to maintain normal serum calcitriol levels (69 4 vs. 56 6 pg/mI in Nx-IPTG-HPD and Nx-PTHR-HPD groups, respectively; P < 0.05). In Nx rats on a HPD, the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism (286 19 pg/mI in the Nx-IPTG-HPD group) prevented a decrease in serum calcitriol levels (68 7 pg/mI). In contrast, serum calcitriol levels were low in the Nx-PTHR-HPD group (52 4 pg/mI, P < 0.05), which were deprived of the adaptative increase in endogenous PTH production. In conclusion, our results in rats indicate that in moderate renal failure, an elevated FTH level maintains calcitriol production and overcomes the inhibitory action of phosphorus retention. Calcitriol is synthesized in renal tubular cells from its precursor 25(OH)D1, and this process is controlled by the action of the enzyme 25(OH)D3-1 cs-hydroxylase. In normal humans and animals phosphorus restriction stimulates the renal production of calcitriol [1-13], and this effect of phosphorus restriction is even observed in moderate renal failure [6-11]. Conversely, high dietary phosphorus has been shown to decrease serum calcitriol [6-9]. Renal production of calcitriol is also stimulated by para
Journal of Pineal Research, 2004
The effect of different doses of 17b-estradiol (E 2) on the pineal response to b-adrenoceptor sti... more The effect of different doses of 17b-estradiol (E 2) on the pineal response to b-adrenoceptor stimulation in female rats was examined. Pinealocytes from 21-day-old ovariectomized rats were exposed to different estrogen doses and treated with b-adrenergic agonists. Estrogen treatment produced a dose-dependent, biphasic response to b-adrenoceptor-induced accumulation of cAMP. This effect was inhibitory at estrogen doses up to 0.1 nm and fitted to a negative exponential curve, while at doses from 0.1 to 100 nm the effect was stimulatory and fitted to a standard positive hyperbola. For in vivo studies, ovariectomized rats were treated with equivalent estrogen concentrations plus a single dose of progesterone (250 lg per rat), and their pineals exposed in vitro to b-adrenergic agonists. Low doses of E 2 (0.1-100 ng per rat) reduced both pineal cAMP accumulation and N-acetyltransferase activity after b-adrenoceptor stimulation, while a high dose (10 lg per rat) induced the opposite response. Apparently, the final estrogen target was the pineal b-adrenergic receptor, as a low dose of E 2 (which had diminished cAMP accumulation after b-adrenoceptor stimulation) also reduced its maximal binding capacity (B max) and its dissociation constant (K d). We also found that the female rat pineal gland contains two different ER subtypes, a and b, which respond to estrogen exposure with nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. These results indicate that, in the female rat, estrogen directly modulates pineal sensitivity to adrenergic stimulation in a complex, dose-dependent manner that may be related to differential expression and activity of two estrogen receptor subtypes within pineal cells.
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Papers by Alexis Hernandez