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The hosts of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers and hence short GRBs are not only galaxies with old stellar populations, infact most short GRB hosts are at least mildly star-forming galaxies. According to theoretical studies of merger populations, both short and long merging time-scales are expected. The immediate environments of BNS mergers are not as directly related to the property of the progenitor system as for long GRBs, since the system usually travelled a significant distance from their birth place. However, studying the stellar population properties across the host can still give us vital information on the contribution of formation channels and on merger timescales. Here we review the properties of NS merger hosts in emission using integrated-light and resolved observations. The afterglows of short GRBs furthermore serve to study the interstellar medium in their host galaxies in absorption. We present our best example to date, GRB 160410A at z = 1.7, one of the highest redshift short GRBs.

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are bursts of electromagnetic energy released when supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies violently disrupt stars that pass too close. TDEs provide a new window to study accretion onto supermassive black holes; in some cases, this accretion leads to launching of a relativistic jet, but the necessary conditions are not fully understood. Here, we report the optical discovery of AT2022cmc, a rapidly fading source located at redshift z=1.19325. Observations of a bright counterpart at other wavelengths, including X-rays, sub-millimeter, and radio, supports the interpretation of AT2022cmc as a jetted TDE containing a synchrotron ``afterglow.'' Using 4 years of Zwicky Transient Facility survey data, we calculated a rate of 0.02 ^{+ 0.04 }_{- 0.01 } Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1} for jetted TDEs based on the luminous, fast-fading red component, thus providing a measurement complementary to the rates derived from X--ray and radio observations (Brown et al., 2015), confirming that ~1% of TDEs have on-axis jets. Forthcoming observations of AT2022cmc could resolve the jet through high-resolution imaging, while optical surveys have the potential to unveil a population of cosmological flares of the AT2022cmc class.

OCTOCAM is the new large Gemini instrument in building. It is an imaging spectrograph with 8 cameras covering the range 370 nm to 2350 nm at a typical resolution of 3000-4000. It will have 2 IFUs, one for normal operation over all wavelengths, the other for AO in the NIR only and with a smaller field but a higher spectral resolution. Currently, no IFU exists that covers the entire range of VIS and NIR in a single observation. Such an IFU would have a number of applications: It can be used for resolved studies of HII regions over a broad wavelength range and emission line galaxies over a broad redshift range using the same set of emission lines. Another application is to observe transients with only arcseconds localization very early without waiting for a sub-arcsecond position, hence allowing to obtain very valuable early data. For bright transients such as SNe and GRBs we can study the immediate environment in detail, and even use the actual transient as AO tip-tilt star to study the environment at high spectral and very high angular resolutions. The IFUs will be Advanced Image Slicers, a proven concept now in use in many instruments around the world including Gemini NIFS, VLT MUSE and KMOS, and JWST NIRSpec. The normal operation slicer will have a field of 9.7> x 6.8> with 17 slices 0.4> wide giving 0.18> x 0.4> spaxels. The slices are smaller than the standard slit size of 0.54> (3 pixels) so will deliver higher spectral resolution. This IFU will deliver much higher performances than the GMOS IFU and NIFS with a larger field of view and spectral range but also considerably fewer pixels per arsec2 then reducing the readout noise. With its wavelength range starting at 370 nm, diamond machining cannot be used. A glass slicer system will have to be used as in MUSE. The wavelength range will however be much larger covering the whole VIS and NIR range. Modern reflection coatings as UV enhanced silver can be used but a trade-off may be better by starting at a longer wavelength to get higher transmission. Special consideration is necessary for the fore-optics which cannot be diamond machined and for the overall design due to the limited space envelope. The AO slicer will have a field of 2.5> x 3.6> with 31 slices 0.08> wide imaged on 2 pixels in the spectral direction to get proper sampling. The fore-optics will magnify the beam in both directions but with different magnifications to get spaxels of 0.08> x 0.08>. The smaller slice image width will give a spectral resolution of about 5000 including aberrations, about the same than NIFS but covering all 4 NIR bands at once. This slicer uses a slit 60% longer than OCTOCAM is designed for. It is possible because the magnification reduces the beam size so the aberrations and vignetting. ©2018 SPIE.

Objective To evaluate whether intravaginal application of seminal plasma at the time of follicle aspiration in IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment cycles has the potential to increase pregnancy rate. To calculate the number of patients needed to achieve significance in a multicenter trial. Design Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized pilot study. Setting University department of gynecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine. Patient(s) One hundred sixty-eight patients undergoing IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment. Intervention(s) Cryopreserved seminal plasma from the patient's partner or sodium chloride (placebo) was injected into the cervix and the posterior fornix of the vagina just after follicle aspiration. Main Outcome Measure(s) Clinical-pregnancy rate. Result(s) One hundred sixty-eight patients agreed to participate in the study. Participation was limited to one treatment cycle. Thirty-one patients (18%) were excluded from the study, mainly as a result of canceled embryo transfers. Seventy patients received placebo, and 67 received seminal plasma. The clinical-pregnancy rate was 25.7% (18/70) in the placebo group. The clinical-pregnancy rate in the seminal plasma group reached 37.3% (25/67), corresponding to a relative increase of 45%. Conclusion(s) Even though significance was not reached in this pilot study, the data suggest that seminal plasma has the potential to improve pregnancy rate. It is estimated that around 450 patients need to be recruited to reach significance in a multicenter study.

In Deutschland warten etwa ein Drittel aller Paare langer als 1 Jahr auf die Erfullung ihres Kinderwunsches, ca. 6% bleiben dauerhaft ungewollt kinderlos. Ublicherweise ist der niedergelassene Frauenarzt der erste „Kontaktpartner“ bei Sterilitat. Standardisiertes diagnostisches Vorgehen tragt zu effektiven, prognoseadaptierten Behandlungsstrategien bei. Junge Frauen mit ovulatorischen Zyklen, positivem Postkoitaltest und kurzer Kinderwunschdauer profitieren von Methoden der naturlichen Familienplanung. Auch bei ausgepragten Zyklusstorungen ist je nach Ursache ein Therapieversuch durch den niedergelassenen Gynakologen gerechtfertigt. Ist nach spatestens 6 Monaten keine Schwangerschaft eingetreten oder ist die Frau uber 35 Jahren und bestehen deutlich fertilitatseinschrankende Faktoren wie Tubenpathologie, Oligoasthenoteratozoospermie oder langjahriger Kinderwunsch, sollte eine zugige Uberweisung in ein Kinderwunschzentrum erfolgen.

Since 1997, and following our detection of the first mm afterglow (GRB 970508), we have followed‐up 38 gamma‐ray bursts (GRBs), mainly with the IRAM’s Plateau de Bure Interferometer. Many long‐duration events have been detected at 3 mm, in the range z = 0.168–8.3, the latter pointing to one of the most distant galaxies discovered so far. The fact that the synchrotron GRB afterglow spectrum peaks in the millimetre range, proves the importance of studying GRBs (the most energetic events in the Universe) at these wavelengths. This has allowed in a few cases to detect the host galaxies of dark GRBs and to compare the time evolution of the mm emission for events spanning two orders of magnitude in z with observables at other wavelengths (X‐rays and optical) determining the characteristic frequencies of the afterglow spectrum, and to trace their evolution, allowing to derive the physical parameters of the circumburst medium. Here we summarize the results obtained so far.

Previous studies have shown that the incidence rate of intervening strong MgII absorbers towards GRBs were a factor of 2 - 4 higher than towards quasars. Exploring the similar sized and uniformly selected legacy data sets XQ-100 and XSGRB, each consisting of 100 quasar and 81 GRB afterglow spectra obtained with a single instrument (VLT/X-shooter), we demonstrate that there is no disagreement in the number density of strong MgII absorbers with rest-frame equivalent widths $W_r^{2796} >$ 1 �� towards GRBs and quasars in the redshift range 0.1 < z < 5. With large and similar sample sizes, and path length coverages of $��$z = 57.8 and 254.4 for GRBs and quasars, respectively, the incidences of intervening absorbers are consistent within 1 sigma uncertainty levels at all redshifts. For absorbers at z < 2.3 the incidence towards GRBs is a factor of 1.5$\pm$0.4 higher than the expected number of strong MgII absorbers in SDSS quasar spectra, while for quasar absorbers observed with X-shooter we find an excess factor of 1.4$\pm$0.2 relative to SDSS quasars. Conversely, the incidence rates agree at all redshifts with reported high spectral resolution quasar data, and no excess is found. The only remaining discrepancy in incidences is between SDSS MgII catalogues and high spectral resolution studies. The rest-frame equivalent width distribution also agrees to within 1 sigma uncertainty levels between the GRB and quasar samples. Intervening strong MgII absorbers towards GRBs are therefore neither unusually frequent, nor unusually strong., 10 pages, accepted for publication in A&A

We present comprehensive photometric R-band observations of the fading optical afterglow of the X-Ray Flash XRF050824, from 11 minutes to 104 days after the burst. The R-band lightcurve of the afterglow resembles the lightcurves of long duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), i.e., a power-law albeit with a rather shallow slope of alpha=0.6. Our late R-band images reveal the host galaxy with a rest-frame B-band luminosity corresponding to roughly 0.5 Lstar. The star-formation rate as determined from the [O II] emission line luminosity is about 1.8 Msun per year. When accounting for the host contribution, the slope is alpha=0.65+-0.01 and a break in the lightcurve is also suggested. A potential lightcurve bump at 2 weeks can be interpreted as a supernova only if this is a supernova with a fast rise and a fast decay. However, the overall fit still show excess scatter in the lightcurve due to wiggles and bumps. The flat lightcurves in the optical and X-rays could be explained by a continuous energy injection scenario with an on-axis viewing angle and a wide jet opening angle (theta_j>10 deg). If the energy injections are episodic, this could potentially help explain the bumps and wiggles. Spectroscopy of the afterglow give a redshift of z=0.828+-0.005 from both absorption and emission lines. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the afterglow has a power-law shape with slope beta=0.56+-0.04. This can be compared to the X-ray spectral index which is betaX=1.0+-0.1. The curvature of the SED constrain the dust reddening towards the burst to Av, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Gamma-ray bursts are usually followed by afterglows produced by synchrotron radiation which makes them detectable out to the far Universe. Here we present the unusual GRB 101225A, also named the "Christmas burst", an extremely long 7-ray burst followed by a bright X-ray afterglow and a peculiar optical counterpart. The X-ray spectrum shows an additional thermal component while the UV-optical-IR SED evolves as a cooling, expanding black-body until 10 days, after which a faint supernova emerges. With GTC/OSIRIS, we detect an extremely faint host galaxy 6 months after the burst. © 2013: Instituto de Astronomía, UNAM - Fourth Science Meeting with the GTC Ed. C. Muñoz-Tuñón & J. M. Rodríguez-Espinosa.