We present results from a new vertical deflection (VD) traverse observed in Perth, Western Australia, which is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. A digital astrogeodetic QDaedalus instrument was deployed to measure VDs with ~0.2" precision at 39 benchmarks with a ~1 km spacing. For the conversion of VDs to quasigeoid height differences, the method of astronomical-topographical levelling was applied, based on topographic information from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The astronomical quasigeoid heights are in ±20-30 mm (RMS) agreement with three independent gravimetric quasigeoid models, and the astrogeodetic VDs agree to ±0.2-0.3" (north-south) and ±0.5-0.9" (east-west) RMS. Tilt-like biases of ~10 mm over ~10 km are present for all quasigeoid models within ~20 km of the coastline, suggesting inconsistencies in the coastal zone gravity data. The VD campaign in Perth was designed as a low-cost effort, possibly allowing replication in other Southern Hemisphere countries (e.g., Asia, Africa, South America and Antarctica), where VD data are particularly scarce.

The effects of a soft tissue mobilization procedure, the Rolfing pelvic lift, on parasympathetic tone was studied in healthy adult men. Parasympathetic tone was assessed 1) by quantifying the amplitude of the respiratory sinus arrhythmia from the heart rate pattern and 2) by measuring heart rate. Heart rate patterns were assessed during the pelvic lift and during the durational touch and baseline control conditions. Two groups of healthy subjects were tested: Group 1 contained 20 subjects aged 26 to 41 years, and Group 2 contained 10 subjects aged 55 to 68 years. In Group 1, the pelvic lift elicited a somatovisceral-parasympathetic reflex characterized by a significant increase in parasympathetic tone relative to durational touch and baseline conditions. Group 2 did not exhibit a parasympathetic change during the pelvic lift. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of pelvic mobilization techniques and may help to explain why these techniques have been clinically successful in treating myofascial pain syndromes and other musculoskeletal dysfunctions characterized by reduced parasympathetic tone and excessive sympathetic activity.

Leveling remains the most precise technique for measuring changes in heights. However, for the purposes of determining vertical land motion (VLM), a time series of repeat leveling measurements is susceptible to artifacts and aliasing that may arise due to systematic errors, seasonal surface fluctuations, motions occurring during a survey, and any inconsistencies in the observation conditions among epochs. Using measurements from 10 repeat leveling surveys conducted twice yearly along a profile spanning ~40 km across the Perth Basin, Western Australia, we describe the observation, processing, and analysis methods required to mitigate these potential error sources. We also demonstrate how these issues may lead to misinterpretation of the VLM derived from repeat leveling and may contribute to discrepancies between geologically inferred rates of ground motion or those derived from other geodetic measurement techniques. Finally, we employ historical (~40‐year‐old) leveling data in order to highlight the errors that can arise when attempting to extrapolate VLM derived from a geodetic time series, particularly in cases where the long‐term motion may be nonlinear.

Gravimetric geoid or quasigeoid models are often evaluated using Global Positioning System (GPS) and levelling, but the veracity of these "control" data is not always considered. Using a precisely surveyed 40km-long traverse of 62 points in Perth, Western Australia, we exemplify that vertical land motion and the choice of GPS processing software may lead to spurious conclusions as to which is the "best" model, particularly with regards to the assessment in the presence of tilts among these datasets. We recommend that the effect of vertical land motion (if present) is factored into such evaluations, GPS data are processed using the same software and in the same reference frame, and tilts among the datasets are considered during the evaluations.