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© 2016 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article under the CC-BY license Background Overweight and obesity are increasing worldwide. To help assess their relevance to mortality in different populations we conducted individual-participant data meta-analyses of prospective studies of body-mass index (BMI), limiting confounding and reverse causality by restricting analyses to never-smokers and excluding pre-existing disease and the first 5 years of follow-up. Methods Of 10 625 411 participants in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and North America from 239 prospective studies (median follow-up 13·7 years, IQR 11·4–14·7), 3 951 455 people in 189 studies were never-smokers without chronic diseases at recruitment who survived 5 years, of whom 385 879 died. The primary analyses are of these deaths, and study, age, and sex adjusted hazard ratios (HRs), relative to BMI 22·5–<25·0 kg/m 2 . Findings All-cause mortality was minimal at 20·0–25·0 kg/m 2 (HR 1·00, 95% CI 0·98–1·02 for BMI 20·0–<22·5 kg/m 2 ; 1·00, 0·99–1·01 for BMI 22·5–<25·0 kg/m 2 ), and increased significantly both just below this range (1·13, 1·09–1·17 for BMI 18·5–<20·0 kg/m 2 ; 1·51, 1·43–1·59 for BMI 15·0–<18·5) and throughout the overweight range (1·07, 1·07–1·08 for BMI 25·0–<27·5 kg/m 2 ; 1·20, 1·18–1·22 for BMI 27·5–<30·0 kg/m 2 ). The HR for obesity grade 1 (BMI 30·0–<35·0 kg/m 2 ) was 1·45, 95% CI 1·41–1·48; the HR for obesity grade 2 (35·0–<40·0 kg/m 2 ) was 1·94, 1·87–2·01; and the HR for obesity grade 3 (40·0&ndash

Epidemiological studies have examined breast cancer risk in relation to sex hormone concentrations measured by different methods: "extraction" immunoassays (with prior purification by organic solvent extraction, with or without column chromatography), "direct" immunoassays (no prior extraction or column chromatography), and more recently with mass spectrometry-based assays. We describe the associations of estradiol, estrone and testosterone with both body mass index and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women according to assay method, using data from a collaborative pooled analysis of 18 prospective studies. In general, hormone concentrations were highest in studies that used direct assays and lowest in studies that used mass spectrometry-based assays. Estradiol and estrone were strongly positively associated with body mass index, regardless of the assay method; testosterone was positively associated with body mass index for direct assays, but less clearly for extraction assays, and there were few data for mass spectrometry assays. The correlations of estradiol with body mass index, estrone and testosterone were lower for direct assays than for extraction and mass spectrometry assays, suggesting that the estimates from the direct assays were less precise. For breast cancer risk, all three hormones were strongly positively associated with risk regardless of assay method (except for testosterone by mass spectrometry where there were few data), with no statistically significant differences in the trends, but differences may emerge as new data accumulate. Future epidemiological and clinical research studies should continue to use the most accurate assays that are feasible within the design characteristics of each study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women is positively associated with circulating concentrations of oestrogens and androgens, but the determinants of these hormones are not well understood. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of breast cancer risk factors and circulating hormone concentrations in more than 6000 postmenopausal women controls in 13 prospective studies. RESULTS: Concentrations of all hormones were lower in older than younger women, with the largest difference for dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), whereas sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was higher in the older women. Androgens were lower in women with bilateral ovariectomy than in naturally postmenopausal women, with the largest difference for free testosterone. All hormones were higher in obese than lean women, with the largest difference for free oestradiol, whereas SHBG was lower in obese women. Smokers of 15+ cigarettes per day had higher levels of all hormones than non-smokers, with the largest difference for testosterone. Drinkers of 20+ g alcohol per day had higher levels of all hormones, but lower SHBG, than non-drinkers, with the largest difference for DHEAS. Hormone concentrations were not strongly related to age at menarche, parity, age at first full-term pregnancy or family history of breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Sex hormone concentrations were strongly associated with several established or suspected risk factors for breast cancer, and may mediate the effects of these factors on breast cancer risk.

Titanium silicide (TiSi2) is well known for application as a local interconnect material in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. This paper reports on a comprehensive analysis of titanium silicide thin films by a variety of spectroscopy, diffraction and microscopy techniques. The composition and uniformity of the thin films and the oxygen contamination in the thin films is studied using Auger electron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry; these have highlighted the existence of a thin film of uniform and desired composition, with a layer of oxide on the surface. Atomic force microscopy is used to study the surface morphology of the thin films. Microanalysis of the titanium silicide thin films was carried out using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy; and a silicide–silicon interface which is abrupt and free of amorphous oxide is evident. X-ray diffraction (Bragg-Brentano and glancing angle), reflection high-energy electron diffraction and selected-area electron diffraction have been used to analyse the orientation of the thin films, and verify the presence of the desired C54 phase. The stress of the thin films is qualitatively studied by forming micro-beams of titanium silicide by bulk-micromachining of silicon, and the curvature of the micro-beams formed confirms tensile stress at the silicide–silicon interface. The thin films are also characterized using ellipsometry and thin film resistivity measurements.

Diamond films were implanted with Au or O ions at multiple energies in order to produce a uniform region of C vacancies. Analysis of the implanted films by Raman spectroscopy has shown that the proportion of non-diamond or amorphous carbon increased with

Polycrystalline diamond films have been irradiated with C+ or Ge+ ions at doses in the range 5 × 1013-5 × 1015 ions/cm2. Analysis of the implanted surfaces by Raman spectroscopy has shown that the proportion of non-diamond or amorphous carbon increased