Aims/hypothesis Maternal obesity predisposes offspring to adulthood morbidities, including type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance have been associated with shortened telomere length. First, we aimed to investigate whether or not maternal obesity influences insulin sensitivity and its relationship with leucocyte telomere length (LTL) in elderly women. Second, we tested whether or not resistance exercise training improves insulin sensitivity in elderly frail women. Methods Forty-six elderly women, of whom 20 were frail offspring of lean/normal weight mothers (OLM, BMI ≤26.3 kg/m 2 ) and 17 were frail offspring of overweight/ obese mothers (OOM, BMI ≥28.1 kg/m 2 ), were studied before and after a 4 month resistance training (RT) intervention. Muscle insulin sensitivity of glucose uptake was measured using 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose and positron emission tomography with computed tomography during a hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp. Muscle mass and lipid content were measured using magnetic resonance and LTL was measured using real-time PCR. Results The OOM group had lower thigh muscle insulin sensitivity compared with the OLM group (p=0.048) but similar whole body insulin sensitivity. RT improved whole body and skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in the OOM group only (p=0.004 and p=0.013, respectively), and increased muscle mass in both groups (p<0.01). In addition, in the OOM group, LTL correlated with different thigh muscle groups insulin sensitivity (ρ ≥ 0.53; p ≤ 0.05). Individuals with shorter LTL showed a higher increase in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity after training (ρ≥−0.61; p≤0.05). Conclusions/interpretation Maternal obesity and having telomere shortening were associated with insulin resistance in adult offspring. A resistance exercise training programme may reverse this disadvantage among offspring of obese mothers. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01931540Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

Ta thin films were grown on Si substrates at different inclination angles with respect to the sputter source using high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS), an ionized physical vapor deposition technique. The ionization allowed for better control of the energy and directionality of the sputtered species, and consequently for improved properties of the deposited films. Depositions were made on Si substrates with the native oxide intact. The structure of the as deposited films was investigated using X-ray diffraction, while a four-point probe setup was used to measure the resistivity. A substrate bias process-window for growth of bcc-Ta was observed. However, the process-window position changed with changing inclination angles of the substrate. The formation of this low-resistivity bcc-phase could be understood in light of the high ion flux from the HIPIMS discharge.

Radio frequency sputtering has been used to deposit α-alumina (α-Al2O3) thin films at substrate temperatures of 280–560 °C. The films are shown to be single phased and hard. Nanoindentation gives values of 306±31 and 27±3 GPa for elastic modulus and hardness, respectively, for a substrate temperature of 280 °C. Growth of the α phase was achieved by in situ predeposition of a chromia template layer. Chromia crystallizes in the same hexagonal structure as α-alumina, with a lattice mismatch of 4.1% in the a- and 4.6% in the c-parameter, and is shown to nucleate readily on the amorphous substrates (silicon with a natural oxide layer). This results in local epitaxy of α-alumina on the chromia layer, as is shown by transmission electron microscopy. The alumina grains are columnar with grain widths increasing from 22±7 to 41±9 nm, as the temperature increases from 280 to 560 °C. This is consistent with a surface diffusion dominated growth mode and suggests that α-alumina deposition at low temperatures is possible once initial grain nucleation has occurred. Results are also presented demonstrating chromia/α-alumina growth on a technological substrate (Haynes230 Ni-based super alloy, Haynes International, Inc.).

Low-temperature growth (500°C) of α-Al 2 O 3 thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering was achieved for the first time. The films were grown onto Cr 2 O 3 nucleation layers and the effects of the total and O 2 partial pressures were investigated. At 0.33 Pa total pressure and ≥16 mPa O 2 partial pressure α-Al 2 O 3 films formed, while at lower O 2 pressure or higher total pressure (0.67 Pa), only γ phase was detected in the films (which were all stoichiometric). Based on these results we suggest that α phase formation was promoted by a high energetic bombardment of the growth surface.2 Alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) thin films are widely used as, e.g., wear-resistant or diffusion barrier coatings. In such high-temperature applications the hard and thermally stable α phase is usually desired. However, synthesis of this phase is not straight-forward. The existence of several metastable phases complicates growth of α-Al 2 O 3 , especially when low temperature growth is required (to limit the thermal load of the substrate). Consequently, many low-temperature growth studies, aimed at forming the α phase, have been made during the last decade. Notably, α-Al 2 O 3 films were achieved at 760 °C by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering, 1 at 580 °C using plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition, 2 and at 280 °C by non-reactive RF magnetron sputtering from an Al 2 O 3 target using chromia (Cr 2 O 3 ) nucleation layers. 3,4 In this article, the method of a chromia "template" is applied to reactive magnetron sputtering, with the aim to understand and control alumina growth at low temperatures. To this end the crystalline structure and chemical composition of the grown films were studied as functions of O 2 partial pressure and Ar+O 2 total pressure. Moreover, in order to study the effect of water, which is known to be important in alumina growth, 5 films were deposited both at ultra high vacuum (UHV) and in a background of ~10 -4 Pa H 2 O.

The interactions of Al, O, and O 2 with different ␣-Al 2 O 3 ͑0001͒ surfaces have been studied using ab initio density functional theory methods. All three surface terminations obtainable by cleaving the bulk structure ͓single Al-layer ͑AlO͒, double Al-layer ͑AlAl͒, and O terminations͔ have been considered, as well as a completely hydrogenated O-terminated surface. Adsorbed Al shows strong ioniclike interaction with the AlOand O-terminated surfaces, and several metastable adsorption sites are identified on the O-terminated surface. On the completely hydrogenated surface, however, Al adsorption in the bulk position is found to be unstable or very weak for the studied configurations of surface H atoms. Atomic O is found to interact strongly with the AlAl-terminated surface, where also O 2 dissociative adsorption without any appreciable barrier is observed. In contrast, O adsorption on the AlO-terminated surface is metastable relative to molecular O 2 . On the O-terminated surface, we find the creation of O surface vacancies to be plausible, especially upon exposure to atomic O at elevated temperatures. The results are mainly discussed in the context of alumina thin film growth and provide insight into phenomena related to, e.g., preferred adsorption sites and effects of hydrogen on the growth.