Excess body weight during midlife, including overweight, is associated with an increased risk of death.

The crystalline structure of the heat‐sealed part of oriented polypropylene (OPP) and cast polypropylene (CPP) films was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal mechanical analysis (TMA). The relationship between the crystalline structure and the mechanical properties was analyzed. It was found that the high total crystallinity of both OPP and CPP gave rise to good mechanical properties and that the orientation of the crystalline structure in the OPP film also was an important factor. The optimum condition for heat sealing was the temperature at which total crystallinity was highest while still retaining the crystalline orientation of OPP. The assessment of crystalline orientation by TMA is an innovation initiated by the authors. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 513–519, 2006

Rates of esophageal adenocarcinoma and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma have increased, while rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma have decreased, suggesting distinct etiologies. The authors prospectively investigated the associations of alcohol and tobacco with these cancers in 474,606 US participants using Cox models adjusted for potential confounders. Between 1995/1996 and 2000, 97 incident cases of ESCC, 205 of esophageal adenocarcinoma, 188 of gastric cardia, and 187 of gastric noncardia cancer occurred. Compared with nonsmokers, current smokers were at increased risk for ESCC (hazard ratio (HR) = 9.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.04, 21.29), esophageal adenocarcinoma (HR = 3.70, 95% CI: 2.20, 6.22), gastric cardia (HR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.73, 4.70), and gastric noncardia (HR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.32, 3.16). Assuming causality, ever smoking had population attributable risks of 77% (95% CI: 0.55, 0.89) for ESCC, 58% (95% CI: 0.38, 0.72) for esophageal adenocarcinoma, 47% (95% CI: 0.27, 0.63) for gastric cardia, and 19% (95% CI: 0.00, 0.37) for gastric noncardia. For drinkers of more than three alcoholic beverages per day, compared with those whose intake was up to one drink per day, the authors found significant associations between alcohol intake and ESCC risk (HR = 4.93, 95% CI: 2.69, 9.03) but not risk for esophageal, gastric cardia, or gastric noncardia adenocarcinoma.