A global call for action to include gender in research impact assessment

Global investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal, and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we – a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe– argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal, and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions, and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action

Comparison of residual stress measurements on single bead on plate welds of a martensitic steel using neutron diffraction

During the welding process, a material is subjected to thermal cycles with rapid heating and cooling rates resulting in residual stress in the weld and the base metal. These residual stress may affect the mechanical performance leading to premature failure of components. Therefore, it is critical to have a detailed knowledge of the residual stress distribution in the weld region as well as in the vicinity in order to predict the service life of components. Due to the high neutron penetration power, neutron diffraction is one of the most useful techniques for nondestructive evaluation of residual stress in welded regions within the bulk. In this paper, neutron diffraction was used to investigate the residual stress distribution within three single bead on plate welds of P91 martensitic steel. Residual stress measurements were performed at different neutron diffraction instruments and different methodology of stress determination was applied. Measurements were carried out at the diffractometers Engin X ISIS Neutron Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , E3 BER II, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin and SALSA Institut Laue Langevin . The results of the measurements presented here, were used to determine the variability of the three instruments and compare the effect of different welding parameters on residual stress. The residual stress measurements were also compared with the respective results of the Task Group 1 TG1 of the European Network on Neutron Techniques standardization for structural integrity NE

Lead induced differences in bone properties in osteocalcin +/+ and −/− female mice

Lead (Pb) toxicity is a major health problem and bone is the major reservoir. Lead is detrimental to bone, affects bone remodeling and is associated with elderly fractures. Osteocalcin (OC) affects bone remodeling, improves fracture resistance and decreases with age and in some diseases. The effect of lead in osteocalcin depleted bone is unknown and of interest. We compared bone mineral properties of control and Pb exposed (from 2 to 6 months) femora from female adult C57BL6 OC+/+ and OC−/− mice using Fourier Transform Infrared Imaging (FTIRI), Micro-computed tomography (uCT), bone biomechanical measurements and serum turnover markers (P1NP, CTX). Lead significantly increased turnover in OC+/+ and in OC−/− bones producing increased total volume, area and marrow area/total area with decreased BV/TV compared to controls. The increased turnover decreased mineral/matrix vs. Oc+/+ and increased mineral/matrix and crystallinity vs. OC−/−. PbOC−/− had increased bone formation, cross-sectional area (Imin) and decreased collagen maturity compared OC−/− and PbOC+/+. Imbalanced turnover in PbOC−/− confirmed the role of osteocalcin as a coupler of formation and resorption. Bone strength and stiffness were reduced in OC−/− and PbOC−/− due to reduced material properties vs. OC+/+ and PbOC+/+ respectively. The PbOC−/− bones had increased area to compensate for weaker material properties but were not proportionally stronger for increased size. However, at low lead levels osteocalcin plays the major role in bone strength suggesting increased fracture risk in low Pb2+ exposed elderly could be due to reduced osteocalcin as well. Years of low lead exposure or higher blood lead levels may have an additional effect on bone strength