This study investigates the response of Red Sea circulation to sea level and insolation changes during termination II and across the last interglacial, in comparison with termination I and the Holocene. Sediment cores from the central and northern part of the Red Sea were investigated by micropaleontological and geochemical proxies. The recovery of the planktic foraminiferal fauna following high salinities during marine isotopic stage (MIS) 6 took place at similar sea-level stand (~50 m below present day), and with a similar species succession, as during termination I. This indicates a consistent sensitivity of the basin oceanography and the plankton ecology to sea-level forcing. Based on planktic foraminifera, we find that increased water exchange with the Gulf of Aden especially occurred during the sea-level highstand of interglacial MIS 5e. From MIS 6 to the peak of MIS 5e, northern Red Sea sea surface temperature (SST) increased from 21 °C to 25 °C, with about 3 °C of this increase taking place during termination II. Changes in planktic foraminiferal assemblages indicate that the development of the Red Sea oceanography during MIS 5 was strongly determined by insolation and monsoon strength. The SW Monsoon summer circulation mode was enhanced during the termination, causing low productivity in northern central Red Sea core KL9, marked by high abundance of G. sacculifer, which – as in the Holocene – followed summer insolation. Core KL11 records the northern tip of the intruding intermediate water layer from the Gulf of Aden and its planktic foraminifera fauna shows evidence for elevated productivity during the sea-level highstand in the southern central Red Sea. By the time of MIS 5 sea-level regression, elevated organic biomarker BIT values suggest denudation of soil organic matter into the Red Sea and high abundances of G. glutinata, and high reconstructed chlorophyll-a values, indicate an intensified NE Monsoon winter circulation mode. Our results imply that the amplitude of insolation fluctuations, and the resulting monsoon strength, strongly influence the Red Sea oceanography during sea-level highstands by regulating the intensity of water exchange with the Gulf of Aden. These processes are responsible for the observation that MIS 5e/d is characterized by higher primary productivity than the Holocene.

The exceptionally long interglacial warm period known as Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS-11; 428–397 ky ago vs. ky vs. kyr) is often considered as a potential analogue for future climate development in the absence of human influence. We use a new high-resolution sea-level record—a globally integrated ice-volume signal—to compare MIS-11 and the current interglacial (Holocene). It is found that sea-level rise into both interglacials started over similar timescales relative to the respective insolation increases, and progressed up to − 50 m at similar rates of 1.0–1.2 m per century. Subsequent weak insolation changes anomalously prolonged the MIS-11 deglaciation over more than 20 ky. The main sea-level highstand was achieved at the second MIS-11 insolation maximum, with a timing closely equivalent to that of the Holocene highstand compared to its single insolation maximum. Consequently, while MIS-11 was an exceptionally long period of interglacial warmth, its ice-volume minimum/sea-level highstand lasted less than 10 ky, which is similar to the duration of other major interglacials. Comparison of the ends of MIS-11 and the Holocene based on timings relative to their respective maxima in mean 21 June insolation at 65°N suggests that the end of Holocene conditions might have been expected 2.0–2.5 ky ago. Instead, interglacial conditions have continued, with CO2, temperature, and sea level remaining high or increasing. This apparent discrepancy highlights the need to consider that: (a) comparisons may need to focus on other orbital control indices, in which case the discrepancy can vanish; and/or (b) the feedback mechanisms that dominate the planetary energy balance may have become decoupled from insolation during the past 2 millennia.

Abstract By using the Eulerian form of the mass conservation equation integrated vertically from the surface to the base of the inversion, two regional air quality models (LIRAQ-1 and LIRAQ-2) have been developed for use in the San Francisco Bay Area. The models consider the complex topography, changing meteorology and detailed source emission patterns in generating surface and vertical average pollutant concentrations with grid resolutions of 1, 2 or 5 km. The focus of LIRAQ-1 is the treatment of transport and dispersion of relatively nonreactive species, accomplished through use of a sophisticated transport prescription. The LIRAQ-2 model, employing a simpler transport scheme, treats photochemically active pollutants and incorporates a photochemical reaction set involving 19 species.

Sea level has varied by over one hundred metres across glacial–interglacial cycles over the past 520,000 years. An extended sea-level reconstruction shows a strong coupling between these sea-level changes and Antarctic surface temperatures over the past five glacial cycles. Ice cores from Antarctica record temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide variations over the past six glacial cycles1,2. Yet concomitant records of sea-level fluctuations—needed to reveal rates and magnitudes of ice-volume change that provide context to projections for the future3,4,5,6,7,8,9—remain elusive. Reconstructions indicate fast rates of sea-level rise up to 5 cm yr−1 during glacial terminations10, and 1–2 cm yr−1 during interglacials11,12 and within the past glacial cycle13. However, little is known about the total long-term sea-level rise in equilibration to warming. Here we present a sea-level record for the past 520,000 years based on stable oxygen isotope analyses of planktonic foraminifera and bulk sediments from the Red Sea. Our record reveals a strong correlation on multi-millennial timescales between global sea level and Antarctic temperature1, which is related to global temperature6,7. On the basis of this correlation, we estimate sea level for the Middle Pliocene epoch (3.0–3.5 Myr ago)—a period with near-modern CO2 levels—at 25±5 m above present, which is validated by independent sea-level data6,14,15,16. Our results imply that even stabilization at today’s CO2 levels may cause sea-level rise over several millennia that by far exceeds existing long-term projections3.

To settle debate on the timing of sea level fluctuations during marine isotope stage (MIS) 3, we present records of δ 18 O ruber (sea level proxy) and magnetic susceptibility from the same samples within the single sediment archive (i.e., “coregistered”) of central Red Sea core GeoTü‐KL11. Core‐scanning X‐ray fluorescence and environmental magnetic data establish the suitability of magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for eolian dust content in Red Sea sediments. The eolian dust data record similar variability as Greenland δ 18 O ice during early to middle MIS 3, in agreement with previous observations that regional Arabian Sea climate fluctuated with a timing similar to that of Greenland climate variations. In contrast, the sea level record fluctuates with a timing similar to that of Antarctic‐style climate variations. The coregistered nature of the two records in core KL11 unambiguously reveals a distinct offset in the phase relationship between sea level and eolian dust fluctuations. The results confirm that sea level rises, indicated by shifts in Red Sea δ 18 O ruber to lighter values, occurred during cold episodes in Greenland during early to middle MIS 3. This indicates that the amplitudes of the reconstructed MIS 3 sea level fluctuations would not be reduced by inclusion of regional climate fluctuations in the Red Sea sea level method. Our analysis comprehensively supports our earlier conclusions of large‐amplitude sea level variations during MIS 3 with a timing that is strongly similar to Antarctic‐style climate variations.

The massage profession has grown rapidly since the late 1980s. As with business startups that begin informally and successfully mature into larger enterprises, growth brings new organizational challenges, together with greater visibility and opportunity. The maturation of massage as a health care profession increases the need for a process to formalize the synthesis of massage therapy knowledge from clinical experience and research-to collect what we know and to make such baseline knowledge widely available to practitioners, consumers, and other health care stakeholders. In short, we need to create a process for setting guidelines.The present paper lays out the motivations and framework for creating massage therapy guidelines that are informed both by research and by clinical experience. It also acts as a report to the massage therapy profession and to other stakeholders about the work of the Best Practices Committee of the Massage Therapy Foundation since 2006. And it has the additional goal of providing a health care literature basis for future academic discussions of massage.The discussion here is based on a definition from the Institute of Medicine and on research into the nature of expertise. Guidelines are targeted for submission to the National Guideline Clearinghouse. Challenges in creating guidelines for massage therapy are discussed. Various stakeholders are considered. Current literature from the wider scope of health care is extensively reviewed. Topics addressed include guideline creation, credentialing of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, definition of competence, and the increasing role of technology (that is, informatics) in managing training and task-necessary competencies. Finally, a process for creation of massage therapy guidelines is proposed. A central feature of the proposal is the use of a "World Café" symposium to elicit knowledge and solutions from diverse experts. The role of transparency and broad and open peer review is emphasized as essential to the usability and credibility of guidelines.

Sea level during the last interglacial stood at least 4 m higher than at present, with evidence of short-term fluctuations of up to 10 m. A new continuous sea level record from the Red Sea and coral ages suggest that during these fluctuations, sea level changes were on the order of 1.6 m per century.

While Impact incorporates diagnostic radiation routines from our work in previous years, it has not previously included the stratospheric relaxation required for forcing calculations. We have now implemented the necessary changes for stratospheric relaxation, tested its stability, and compared the results with stratosphere temperatures obtained from CAM3 met data. The relaxation results in stable temperature profiles in the stratosphere, which is encouraging for use in forcing calculations. It does, however, produce a cooling bias when compared to CAM3, which appears to be due to differences in radiation calculations rather than the interactive treatment of ozone. The cause of this bias is unclear as yet, but seems to be systematic and hence cancels out when differences are taken relative to a control simulation.

Wording proposed for SB 412 would phase out the important 250 hour tier in terms of a 'national standard' of 500 hours. A closer inspection, however, reveals this standard to be based on simulation of a white, middle-class perspective on the appearance of a health care profession. The 'standard' is, at best, a mediocre national habit, without the underlying rigors of definition of need or mapping of educational content into capabilities in practice. There are high costs in pursuing this 'cargo cult' philosophy. A multitude of California massage schools rely on the 250 hour tier for an economic niche. In return, these schools service the entry to practice needs of a highly diverse California population, including those transferring from other professions, those learning while meeting family and community responsibilities, and those of ethnic, non-English, or poor backgrounds working hard to fulfill their potential. For these groups, the 250 hour tiers meets an important and continuing economic need for rapid entry to massage practice so that their career dreams can continue. While SB 412, on the face, creates a voluntary certification, when combined with local regulations, it can be anticipated to have the effect of a practice act in many urban regions. California can do far better by keeping the 250 hour tier and working to develop true standards, particularly in light of the very recent formation of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards and the current uncertainties of even the definition of medically oriented massage let alone the needs for integrating massage into the U.S. health care system.

SUNDIALS is a suite of advanced computational codes for solving large-scale problems that can be modeled as a system of nonlinear algebraic equations, or as initial-value problems in ordinary differential or differential-algebraic equations. The basic versions of these codes are called KINSOL, CVODE, and IDA, respectively. The codes are written in ANSI standard C and are suitable for either serial or parallel machine environments. Common and notable features of these codes include inexact Newton-Krylov methods for solving large-scale nonlinear systems; linear multistep methods for time-dependent problems; a highly modular structure to allow incorporation of different preconditioning and/or linear solver methods; and clear interfaces allowing for users to provide their own data structures underneath the solvers. We describe the current capabilities of the codes, along with some of the algorithms and heuristics used to achieve efficiency and robustness. We also describe how the codes stem from previous and widely used Fortran 77 solvers, and how the codes have been augmented with forward and adjoint methods for carrying out first-order sensitivity analysis with respect to model parameters or initial conditions.

This is a summary of work done over two months in the summer of 2005, which was devoted to improving the radiation code of IMPACT, the LLNL 3D global atmospheric chemistry and aerosol model. Most of the work concerned the addition and testing of new cloud optical property routines designed to work with CAM3 meteorological data, and the comparison of CAM3 with the results of IMPACT runs using meteorological data from CAM3 and MACCM3. Additional related work done in the course of these main tasks will be described as necessary.

California is both geographically large and culturally diverse. For more than three decades California has been a source of innovation in massage techniques and has fostered a wide choice of massage training to meet different interests and needs. This article examines a number of statistics from private postsecondary schools and from community college programs to better characterize the norms and breadth of massage training within the state and to illuminate emerging trends. The policy framework resulting from these analyses and from an outcomebased training orientation is discussed. Among non-degree programs at private schools and colleges, dedicated massage schools were found to dominate in numbers, however, other types of career colleges were found to dominate the rate of increase. For entrants to practice, 76% were in programs between 100–250 hours. For entry-level programs, 61% were in the 100–250 hour range. Analysis of entrants per massage program indicates a likelihood of two student populations. One forms a base that appears to be insensitive to program hours. The second, composing 54%±6% of entrants strongly targets programs in the 100–250 hour range. Entrants in this latter population appear to decrease by half for every 38–88 hour increase in program length with a geometric mean of 58 hours. These results indicate that potential policy changes could have significant negative impacts on California entrants and schools relying on lower-end entry programs. Mitigation strategies are discussed in the context of balancing impacts with political feasibility and policy objectives and by identifying possible program targeting strategies used by entrants. Although there are currently only three Chancellor’s Office approved community college-based massage programs and four private associate degree programs in California, such programs are likely to become increasingly important. College-based programs offer the potential advantage of gaining entry to the massage profession via a certificate program and continuing on with an associate degree. An associate degree would in turn constitute greater career flexibility and greater portability to a bachelor’s program at a four-year college or university. We examine such opportunities presented by community colleges and examine statistics and demographics already collected. Programs developed at De Anza Community College are used to exemplify outcomes and core teaching elements for producing graduates with the skills, knowledge, and abilities important to providing scientifically-based therapeutic massage treatments. Several outcome-based education methodologies being developed for medical education are referenced and noted as providing insights into creating better guidelines for subpractice specific massage training. These guideline concepts are then tied back into addressing medical concerns for evidence-based credentialing of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners. 1 This report was prepared as the precursor for several papers to be submitted to the Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies, a peer-reviewed publication of Elsevier Science.