Forward Modeling of Double Neutron Stars: Insights from Highly-Offset Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

We present a detailed analysis of two well-localized, highly offset short gamma-ray bursts---GRB~070809 and GRB~090515---investigating the kinematic evolution of their progenitors from compact object formation until merger. Calibrating to observations of their most probable host galaxies, we construct semi-analytic galactic models that account for star formation history and galaxy growth over time. We pair detailed kinematic evolution with compact binary population modeling to infer viable post-supernova velocities and inspiral times. By populating binary tracers according to the star formation history of the host and kinematically evolving their post-supernova trajectories through the time-dependent galactic potential, we find that systems matching the observed offsets of the bursts require post-supernova systemic velocities of hundreds of kilometers per second. Marginalizing over uncertainties in the stellar mass--halo mass relation, we find that the second-born neutron star in the GRB~070809 and GRB~090515 progenitor systems received a natal kick of $\gtrsim 200~\mathrm{km\,s}^{-1}$ at the 78\% and 91\% credible levels, respectively. Applying our analysis to the full catalog of localized short gamma-ray bursts will provide unique constraints on their progenitors and help unravel the selection effects inherent to observing transients that are highly offset with respect to their hosts.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. ApJ, in pres

Diet, lifestyle and body weight in Irish children: findings from Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance national surveys

Childhood obesity is an issue of public health concern globally. This review reports on levels of overweight and obesity in Irish children and examines some aspects of their diet and lifestyle proposed to promote or protect against increasing body fatness in children. While there is still some debate with regard to the most appropriate cut-off points to use when assessing body fatness in children, approximately one in five Irish children (aged 2–17 years) have been classified as overweight (including obese) according to two generally accepted approaches. Furthermore, comparison with previous data has shown an increase in mean body weight and BMI over time. On examining dietary patterns for Irish children, there was a noticeable transition from a less energy dense diet in pre-school children to a more energy dense diet in older children and teenagers, associated with a change to less favourable dietary intakes for fibre, fat, fruit and vegetables, confectionery and snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages as children got older. A significant proportion of school-aged children and teenagers reported watching more than 2 h television per day (35 % on school-days and 65 % on week-ends) compared with 13 % of pre-school children. For children aged 5–12 years, eating out of the home contributed just 9 % of energy intake but food eaten from outside the home was shown to contribute a higher proportion of energy from fat and to be less fibre-dense than food prepared at home. Improvements in dietary lifestyle are needed to control increasing levels of overweight and obesity in children in Ireland

Panel One: Information Issues: Intellectual Property, Privacy, Integrity, Interoperability, and the Economics of Information

The first panel of From Conduit to Content: The Emergence of Information Policy and Law examines the wide range of legal and regulatory issues presented by information, including intellectual property, privacy, free expression, liability for false or damaging expression, interoperability, international trade, antitrust, and government investment in and provision of information. Participants include Anne W. Branscomb, Fred H. Cate, Brian Kahin, Ellen M. Kirsh, and P. Michael Nugent. From Conduit to Content: The Emergence of Information Policy and Law. The Annenberg Washington Program. Friday, March 3 1995, Washington, D.C

Panel One: Information Issues: Intellectual Property, Privacy, Integrity, Interoperability, and the Economics of Information

The first panel of From Conduit to Content: The Emergence of Information Policy and Law examines the wide range of legal and regulatory issues presented by information, including intellectual property, privacy, free expression, liability for false or damaging expression, interoperability, international trade, antitrust, and government investment in and provision of information. Participants include Anne W. Branscomb, Fred H. Cate, Brian Kahin, Ellen M. Kirsh, and P. Michael Nugent. From Conduit to Content: The Emergence of Information Policy and Law. The Annenberg Washington Program. Friday, March 3 1995, Washington, D.C

Iodine intakes and status in Irish adults is there cause for concern?

I is an important mineral for health, required for the production of key thyroid hormones, which are essential for cellular metabolism, growth and physical development. Hence, adequate I is crucial at all stages of life, but imperative during pregnancy for fetal brain development and during a child’s early life for neurodevelopment. Within Ireland, limited information exists on population I intakes and status. Therefore, the purposes of the present analysis were to estimate dietary I intakes and to analyse urinary iodine (UI) status using the cross-sectional National Adult Nutrition Survey 2008–2010 and the most recent Irish Total Diet Study. Median I intakes in the total population (n 1106) were adequate with only 26 % of the population being classified as below the estimated average requirement (EAR). Milk consumption was the major source of I in the diet, contributing 45 % to total intake. Likewise, median UI concentrations (107 µg/l) indicated ‘optimal’ I nutrition according to the WHO cut-off points. In our cohort, 77 % of women of childbearing age (18–50 years) did not meet the EAR recommendation set for pregnant women. Although I is deemed to be sufficient in the majority of adult populations resident in Ireland, any changes to the current dairy practices could significantly impact intake and status. Continued monitoring should be of priority to ensure that all subgroups of the population are I sufficient

A Population of Short-duration Gamma-ray Bursts with Dwarf Host Galaxies

We present a population of 11 of the faintest ($> 25.5$ AB mag) short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies. We model their sparse available observations using the stellar population inference code Prospector-$\beta$ and develop a novel implementation to incorporate the galaxy mass-radius relation. Assuming these hosts are randomly drawn from the galaxy population and conditioning this draw on their observed flux and size in few photometric bands, we determine that these hosts have dwarf galaxy stellar masses of $7.0\lesssim\log(M_*/M_\odot)\lesssim9.1$. This is striking as only $14\%$ of short GRB hosts with previous inferred stellar masses had $M_* \lesssim 10^{9}\,M_{\odot}$. We further show these short GRBs have smaller physical and host-normalized offsets than the rest of the population, suggesting that the majority of their neutron star (NS) merger progenitors were retained within their hosts. The presumably shallow potentials of these hosts translate to small escape velocities of $\sim5.5-80$ km/s, indicative of either low post-supernova systemic velocities or short inspiral times. While short GRBs with identified dwarf host galaxies now comprise $\approx 14\%$ of the total Swift-detected population, a number are likely missing in the current population, as larger systemic velocities (observed from Galactic NS population) would result in highly offset short GRBs and less secure host associations. However, the revelation of a population of short GRBs retained in low-mass host galaxies offers a natural explanation for observed $r$-process enrichment via NS mergers in Local Group dwarf galaxies, and has implications for gravitational wave follow-up strategies.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, submitte

The prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity in Irish adults between 1990 and 2011

Obesity is a serious public health issue, the prevalence of which is increasing globally. The present study aimed to investigate trends in overweight and obesity in Irish adults between 1990 and 2011. Anthropometric data from three Irish national food consumption surveys were used to calculate trends in BMI, waist circumference and waist:hip ratio. Three cross-sectional food consumption surveys: the Irish National Nutrition Survey (1990), the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (2001) and the National Adult Nutrition Survey (2011). A collective sample of free-living Irish adults (n 3125), aged 18–64 years. There were significant increases in mean weight, height and BMI from 1990 to 2011. Significant increments were also reported in waist and hip circumferences and waist:hip ratio between 2001 and 2011, with concurrent increases in the proportion of individuals at risk of developing CVD, particularly females aged 18–35 years. In 2011, 23·4 % of the Irish population was classified as obese; with the mean BMI increasing by 1·1 kg/m2 between 1990 and 2001 and by 0·6 kg/m2 between 2001 and 2011. The present paper characterises obesity levels in Irish adults from 1990 to 2011. Absolute levels of overweight and obesity have increased between these time points. Of concern is the increase in the proportion of young women classified as at risk of CVD, using waist circumference and waist:hip ratio. Effective prevention strategies are needed to avoid further increases

Development and validation testing of a short nutrition questionnaire to identify dietary risk factors in preschoolers aged 12-36 months.

Background: Although imbalances in dietary intakes can have short and longer term influences on the health of preschool children, few tools exist to quickly and easily identify nutritional risk in otherwise healthy young children. Objectives: To develop and test the validity of a parent-administered questionnaire (NutricheQ) as a means of evaluating dietary risk in young children (12–36 months). Design: Following a comprehensive development process and internal reliability assessment, the NutricheQ questionnaire was validated in a cohort of 371 Irish preschool children as part of the National Preschool Nutrition Survey. Dietary risk was rated on a scale ranging from 0 to 22 from 11 questions, with a higher score indicating higher risk. Results: Children with higher NutricheQ scores had significantly (p<0.05) lower mean daily intakes of key nutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin D, riboflavin, niacin, folate, phosphorous, potassium, carotene, retinol, and dietary fibre. They also had lower (p<0.05) intakes of vegetables, fish and fish dishes, meat and infant/toddler milks and higher intakes of processed foods and non-milk beverages, confectionery, sugars and savoury snack foods indicative of poorer dietary quality. Areas under the curve values of 84.7 and 75.6% were achieved for ‘medium’ and ‘high’ dietary risk when compared with expert risk ratings indicating good consistency between the two methods. Conclusion: NutricheQ is a valid method of quickly assessing dietary quality in preschoolers and in identifying those at increased nutritional risk