The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Spectroscopic Campaign and Emission-Line Light Curves

In the Spring of 2011 we carried out a 2.5 month reverberation mapping campaign using the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory, monitoring 15 low-redshift Seyfert 1 galaxies. This paper describes the observations, reductions and measurements, and data products from the spectroscopic campaign. The reduced spectra were fitted with a multicomponent model in order to isolate the contributions of various continuum and emission-line components. We present light curves of broad emission lines and the AGN continuum, and measurements of the broad H-beta line widths in mean and root-mean square (rms) spectra. For the most highly variable AGNs we also measured broad H-beta line widths and velocity centroids from the nightly spectra. In four AGNs exhibiting the highest variability amplitudes, we detect anticorrelations between broad H-beta width and luminosity, demonstrating that the broad-line region "breathes" on short timescales of days to weeks in response to continuum variations. We also find that broad H-beta velocity centroids can undergo substantial changes in response to continuum variations; in NGC 4593 the broad H-beta velocity shifted by ~250 km/s over a one-month duration. This reverberation-induced velocity shift effect is likely to contribute a significant source of confusion noise to binary black hole searches that use multi-epoch quasar spectroscopy to detect binary orbital motion. We also present results from simulations that examine biases that can occur in measurement of broad-line widths from rms spectra due to the contributions of continuum variations and photon-counting noise.Comment: 33 pages, 28 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Supplement Serie

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Reverberation Mapping of Markarian 50

The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011 observing campaign was carried out over the course of 11 weeks in Spring 2011. Here we present the first results from this program, a measurement of the broad-line reverberation lag in the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 50. Combining our data with supplemental observations obtained prior to the start of the main observing campaign, our dataset covers a total duration of 4.5 months. During this time, Mrk 50 was highly variable, exhibiting a maximum variability amplitude of a factor of 4 in the U-band continuum and a factor of 2 in the H-beta line. Using standard cross-correlation techniques, we find that H-beta and H-gamma lag the V-band continuum by tau_cen = 10.64(-0.93,+0.82) and 8.43(-1.28,+1.30) days, respectively, while the lag of He II 4686 is unresolved. The H-beta line exhibits a symmetric velocity-resolved reverberation signature with shorter lags in the high-velocity wings than in the line core, consistent with an origin in a broad-line region dominated by orbital motion rather than infall or outflow. Assuming a virial normalization factor of f=5.25, the virial estimate of the black hole mass is (3.2+-0.5)*10^7 solar masses. These observations demonstrate that Mrk 50 is among the most promising nearby active galaxies for detailed investigations of broad-line region structure and dynamics.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. 6 pages, 4 figure

Satellites around massive galaxies since z~2

Accretion of minor satellites has been postulated as the most likely mechanism to explain the significant size evolution of the massive galaxies over cosmic time. Using a sample of 629 massive (Mstar~10^11 Msun) galaxies from the near-infrared Palomar/DEEP-2 survey, we explore which fraction of these objects has satellites with 0.01 Msat < Mcentral < 1 (1:100) up to z=1 and which fraction has satellites with 0.1 Msat < Mcentral < 1 (1:10) up to z=2 within a projected radial distance of 100 kpc. We find that the fraction of massive galaxies with satellites, after the background correction, remains basically constant and close to ~30% for satellites with a mass ratio down to 1:100 up to z=1, and ~15% for satellites with a 1:10 mass ratio up to z=2. The family of spheroid-like massive galaxies presents a 2-3 times larger fraction of objects with satellites than the group of disk-like massive galaxies. A crude estimation of the number of 1:3 mergers a massive spheroid-like galaxy experiences since z~2 is around 2. For a disk-like galaxy this number decreases to ~1.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to MNRAS on Sept. 23, resubmitted after addressing referee comment

Stability of the broad-line region geometry and dynamics in Arp 151 over seven years

KH acknowledges support from STFC grant ST/M001296/1.The Seyfert 1 galaxy Arp 151 was monitored as part of three reverberation mapping campaigns spanning 2008−2015. We present modeling of these velocity-resolved reverberation mapping datasets using a geometric and dynamical model for the broad line region (BLR). By modeling each of the three datasets independently, we infer the evolution of the BLR structure in Arp 151 over a total of seven years and constrain the systematic uncertainties in non-varying parameters such as the black hole mass. We find that the BLR geometry of a thick disk viewed close to face-on is stable over this time, although the size of the BLR grows by a factor of 2. The dynamics of the BLR are dominated by inflow and the inferred black hole mass is consistent for the three datasets, despite the increase in BLR size. Combining the inference for the three datasets yields a black hole mass and statistical uncertainty of log10(MBH/M⊙) = 6.82(^+0.09_−0.09) with a standard deviation in individual measurements of 0.13 dex.PostprintPeer reviewe

Towards the clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics in bipolar disorder.

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric illness defined by pathological alterations between the mood states of mania and depression, causing disability, imposing healthcare costs and elevating the risk of suicide. Although effective treatments for BD exist, variability in outcomes leads to a large number of treatment failures, typically followed by a trial and error process of medication switches that can take years. Pharmacogenetic testing (PGT), by tailoring drug choice to an individual, may personalize and expedite treatment so as to identify more rapidly medications well suited to individual BD patients.DiscussionA number of associations have been made in BD between medication response phenotypes and specific genetic markers. However, to date clinical adoption of PGT has been limited, often citing questions that must be answered before it can be widely utilized. These include: What are the requirements of supporting evidence? How large is a clinically relevant effect? What degree of specificity and sensitivity are required? Does a given marker influence decision making and have clinical utility? In many cases, the answers to these questions remain unknown, and ultimately, the question of whether PGT is valid and useful must be determined empirically. Towards this aim, we have reviewed the literature and selected drug-genotype associations with the strongest evidence for utility in BD.SummaryBased upon these findings, we propose a preliminary panel for use in PGT, and a method by which the results of a PGT panel can be integrated for clinical interpretation. Finally, we argue that based on the sufficiency of accumulated evidence, PGT implementation studies are now warranted. We propose and discuss the design for a randomized clinical trial to test the use of PGT in the treatment of BD

Folate Augmentation of Treatment – Evaluation for Depression (FolATED): protocol of a randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinical depression is common, debilitating and treatable; one in four people experience it during their lives. The majority of sufferers are treated in primary care and only half respond well to active treatment. Evidence suggests that folate may be a useful adjunct to antidepressant treatment: 1) patients with depression often have a functional folate deficiency; 2) the severity of such deficiency, indicated by elevated homocysteine, correlates with depression severity, 3) low folate is associated with poor antidepressant response, and 4) folate is required for the synthesis of neurotransmitters implicated in the pathogenesis and treatment of depression.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The primary objective of this trial is to estimate the effect of folate augmentation in new or continuing treatment of depressive disorder in primary and secondary care. Secondary objectives are to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of folate augmentation of antidepressant treatment, investigate how the response to antidepressant treatment depends on genetic polymorphisms relevant to folate metabolism and antidepressant response, and explore whether baseline folate status can predict response to antidepressant treatment.</p> <p>Seven hundred and thirty patients will be recruited from North East Wales, North West Wales and Swansea. Patients with moderate to severe depression will be referred to the trial by their GP or Psychiatrist. If patients consent they will be assessed for eligibility and baseline measures will be undertaken.</p> <p>Blood samples will be taken to exclude patients with folate and B12 deficiency. Some of the blood taken will be used to measure homocysteine levels and for genetic analysis (with additional consent). Eligible participants will be randomised to receive 5 mg of folic acid or placebo. Patients with B12 deficiency or folate deficiency will be given appropriate treatment and will be monitored in the 'comprehensive cohort study'. Assessments will be at screening, randomisation and 3 subsequent follow-ups.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>If folic acid is shown to improve the efficacy of antidepressants, then it will provide a safe, simple and cheap way of improving the treatment of depression in primary and secondary care.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current controlled trials ISRCTN37558856</p

Has Behavioral Science Tumbled Through the Biological Looking Glass? Will Brief, Evidence-Based Training Return It From the Rabbit Hole?

Time constraints and professional demands leave practicing professionals unlikely to enroll in extended training such as a semester-long graduate course. Thus, the three-hour continuing education format has become a standard for those in practice. One may ask what sorts of training strategies optimize that format. To explore that, a three hour training program for seventy-six practicing mental health professionals, most of whom self-identified as psychologists, was devised. It made use of primarily antecedent techniques that have been shown to bring about changed perceptions on a number of topics. Content focused on two areas of importance to behavior analysts, the culture’s increasing acceptance of the biological causation model of disorders such as attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia, and the field’s increasing reliance on medications, often to the exclusion of behavioral methods. Pre-post assessment showed that participants had changed their thinking regarding the two content areas. The authors caution that participants’ changed opinions may serve as setting events to changes in practice, but those changes are verbal. One must not assume changes in practice techniques will automatically occur