Juan J. Meléndez

Chronology of Metastasis in Cutaneous Melanoma: Growth Rate Model

In humans, it is not possible to obtain experimental evidence of when a cancer begins to metastasize. The purpose of this study was to estimate the time of onset of metastatic dissemination in cutaneous melanoma using a model based on its growth rate (GR). The critical time of onset of metastatic dissemination below which no cases of fatal melanomas were seen may be described with a potential function in which this time is inversely proportional to the GR. The critical time of development beyond which a melanoma may metastasize presents great variation. This time was just 1 month for those melanomas with a fast GR, whereas it was over 5 years for those with a very slow GR. Quantitatively, the fastest-growing melanomas began metastasizing with a greater thickness than the slowest-growing melanomas. A correlation exists between the critical time of onset of metastatic potential and the GR of the melanoma. These results may well have relevance to the understanding of mechanisms of tumor dissemination and for the design of future studies on melanomas, irrespective of whether they are basic studies on biomolecular mechamisms or clinical studies.

Ultralow and anisotropic thermal conductivity in semiconductor As2Se3

An ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of 0.14 W m-1 K-1 along the b[combining right harpoon above] axis of As2Se3 single crystals was obtained at 300 K using first-principles calculations involving density functional theory and the resolution of the Boltzmann transport equation. This ultralow lattice thermal conductivity arises from the combination of two mechanisms: (1) a cascade-like fall of the low-lying optical modes, which results in avoided crossings of these with the acoustic modes, low sound velocities and increased scattering rates of the acoustic phonons; and (2) the repulsion between the lone-pair electrons of the As cations and the valence p orbitals of the Se anions, which leads to an increase in the anharmonicity of the bonds. The physical origins of these mechanisms lie in the nature of the chemical bonding in the material and its strong anisotropy. These results, whose validity has been addressed by comparison with SnSe, for which excellent agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experiments is achieved, point out that As2Se3 could exhibit improved thermoelectric properties.

Breathing bands due to molecular order in CH3NH3PbI3

Abstract CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite is nowadays amongst the most promising photovoltaic materials for energy conversion. We have studied by ab initio calculations, using several levels of approximation – namely density functional theory including spin-orbit coupling and quasi-particle corrections by means of the GW method, as well as pseudopotential self-interaction corrections, the role of the methylammonium orientation on the electronic structure of this perovskite. We have considered many molecular arrangements within 2 × 2 × 2 supercells, showing that the relative orientation of the organic molecules is responsible for a huge band gap variation up to 2 eV. The band gap sizes are related to distortions of the PbI3 cage, which are in turn due to electrostatic interactions between this inorganic frame and the molecules. The strong dependence of the band gap on the mutual molecular orientation is confirmed at all levels of approximations. Our results suggest then that the coupling between the molecular motion and the interactions of the molecules with the inorganic cage could help to explain the widening of the absorption spectrum of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite, consistent with the observed white spectrum.

Chronology of regional lymph node metastases in cutaneous melanoma: a model based on mitotic rate

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