Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are pervasively transcribed in the genome and are emerging as new players in tumorigenesis due to their various functions in transcriptional, posttranscriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation. LncRNAs are deregulated in a number of cancers, demonstrating both oncogenic and tumor suppressive roles, thus suggesting their aberrant expression may be a substantial contributor in cancer development. In this review, we will summarize their emerging role in human cancer and discuss their perspectives in diagnostics as potential biomarkers.

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We report on the first exfoliation of MoS2 coaxial nanotubes. The single-layer flakes, as the result of exfoliation, represent the transition metal dichalcogenides' analogue of graphene. They show a very low degree of restacking in comparison with exfoliation of MoS2 plate-like crystals. MoS2 monolayers were investigated by means of electron and atomic force microscopies, showing their structure, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, revealing quantum confinement as the consequence of the nanoscale size in the z-direction.

In order to study the role of polymer crystallinity, we performed oxygen plasma treatment experiments on amorphous and semicrystalline poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) polymers. The samples were treated in weakly ionized, highly dissociated RF oxygen plasma in glow region for different exposure times. We found that the degree of polymer crystallinity has an influence on the recombination probability of neutral atoms which interact with the surface. For amorphous polymers the recombination coefficient is in the range from 8.3 × 10−4 to 2.1 × 10−4 and for semicrystalline from 4 × 10−4 to 2.5 × 10−5. The degree of crystallinity in plasma processing also has influences on surface topography, formation of new functional groups, etching and hydrophobic recovery (ageing). Therefore, the polymer crystallinity should be taken into consideration when optimizing plasma treatment processes for industry as well as for accounting neutral atom recombination on polymer surfaces.

BackgroundNon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key regulatory molecules in cellular processes, and are potential biomarkers in many diseases. Currently, microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are being pursued as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and as therapeutic tools in cancer, since their expression profiling is able to distinguish different cancer types and classify their sub-types.ConclusionsThere are numerous studies confirming involvement of ncRNAs in cancer initiation, development and progression, but have only been recently identified as new diagnostic and prognostic tools. This can be beneficial in future medical cancer treatment options, since ncRNAs are natural antisense interactors included in regulation of many genes connected to survival and proliferation. Research is directed in development of useful markers for diagnosis and prognosis in cancer and in developing new RNA-based cancer therapies, of which some are already in clinical trials.