Presentation Extensions of the SOAP

A set of extensions of the Satellite Orbit Analysis Program (SOAP) enables simultaneous and/or sequential presentation of information from multiple sources. SOAP is used in the aerospace community as a means of collaborative visualization and analysis of data on planned spacecraft missions. The following definitions of terms also describe the display modalities of SOAP as now extended: In SOAP terminology, View signifies an animated three-dimensional (3D) scene, two-dimensional still image, plot of numerical data, or any other visible display derived from a computational simulation or other data source; a) "Viewport" signifies a rectangular portion of a computer-display window containing a view; b) "Palette" signifies a collection of one or more viewports configured for simultaneous (split-screen) display in the same window; c) "Slide" signifies a palette with a beginning and ending time and an animation time step; and d) "Presentation" signifies a prescribed sequence of slides. For example, multiple 3D views from different locations can be crafted for simultaneous display and combined with numerical plots and other representations of data for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The resulting sets of views can be temporally sequenced to convey visual impressions of a sequence of events for a planned mission

TCP/IP Interface for the Satellite Orbit Analysis Program (SOAP)

The Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet protocol (TCP/IP) interface for the Satellite Orbit Analysis Program (SOAP) provides the means for the software to establish real-time interfaces with other software. Such interfaces can operate between two programs, either on the same computer or on different computers joined by a network. The SOAP TCP/IP module employs a client/server interface where SOAP is the server and other applications can be clients. Real-time interfaces between software offer a number of advantages over embedding all of the common functionality within a single program. One advantage is that they allow each program to divide the computation labor between processors or computers running the separate applications. Secondly, each program can be allowed to provide its own expertise domain with other programs able to use this expertise

Developmental change in motor competence : a latent growth curve analysis

Background: The development of childhood motor competence demonstrates a high degree of inter-individual variation. Some children's competence levels increase whilst others' competence levels remain unchanged or even decrease over time. However, few studies have examined this developmental change in motor competence across childhood and little is known on influencing factors. Aim: Using latent growth curve modeling (LGCM), the present longitudinal study aimed to investigate children's change in motor competence across a 2-year timespan and to examine the potential influence of baseline weight status and physical fitness on their trajectory of change in motor competence. Methods: 558 children (52.5% boys) aged between 6 and 9 years participated in this study. Baseline measurements included weight status, motor competence (i.e., Korperkoordinationstest fur Kinder; KTK) and physical fitness (i.e., sit and reach, standing long jump and the 20 m shuttle run test). Motor competence assessment took place three times across a 2-year timespan. LGCM was conducted to examine change in motor competence over time. Results: The analyses showed a positive linear change in motor competence across 2 years (beta = 28.48, p < 0.001) with significant variability in children's individual trajectories (p < 0.001). Girls made less progress than boys (beta = -2.12, p = 0.01). Children who were older at baseline demonstrated less change in motor competence (beta = -0.33, p < 0.001). Weight status at baseline was negatively associated with change in motor competence over time (beta = -1.418, p = 0.002). None of the physical fitness components, measured at baseline, were significantly associated with change in motor competence over time. Conclusion and Implications: This longitudinal study reveals that weight status significantly influences children's motor competence trajectories whilst physical fitness demonstrated no significant influence on motor competence trajectories. Future studies should further explore children's differential trajectories over time and potential factors influencing that change

About SparseLab

Changes and Enhancements for Release 2.0: 4 papers have been added to SparseLab 200: "Fast Solution of l1-norm Minimization Problems When the Solutions May be Sparse"; "Why Simple Shrinkage is Still Relevant For Redundant Representations"; "Stable Recovery of Sparse Overcomplete Representations in the Presence of Noise"; "On the Stability of Basis Pursuit in the Presence of Noise." SparseLab is a library of Matlab routines for finding sparse solutions to underdetermined systems. The library is available free of charge over the Internet. Versions are provided for Macintosh, UNIX and Windows machines. Downloading and installation instructions are given here. SparseLab has over 400 .m files which are documented, indexed and cross-referenced in various ways. In this document we suggest several ways to get started using SparseLab: (a) trying out the pedagogical examples, (b) running the demonstrations, which illustrate the use of SparseLab in published papers, and (c) browsing the extensive collection of source files, which are self-documenting. SparseLab makes available, in one package, all the code to reproduce all the figures in the included published articles. The interested reader can inspect the source code to see exactly what algorithms were used, and how parameters were set in producing our figures, and can then modify the source to produce variations on our results. SparseLab has been developed, in part, because of exhortations by Jon Claerbout of Stanford that computational scientists should engage in "really reproducible" research. This document helps with installation and getting started, as well as describing the philosophy, limitations and rules of the road for this software

SparseLab Architecture

Changes and Enhancements for Release 2.0: 4 papers have been added to SparseLab 2.0: "Fast Solution of l1-norm Minimization Problems When the Solutions May be Sparse"; "Why Simple Shrinkage is Still Relevant For Redundant Representations"; "Stable Recovery of Sparse Overcomplete Representations in the Presence of Noise"; "On the Stability of Basis Pursuit in the Presence of Noise." This document describes the architecture of SparseLab version 2.0. It is designed for users who already have had day-to-day interaction with the package and now need specific details about the architecture of the package, for example to modify components for their own research

Effectiveness of physical education to promote motor competence in primary school children

Motor skill (MS) competence is an important contributing factor for healthy development. The goal was to test the effectiveness of primary school physical education (PE) on MS and physical fitness (PF) development. Three classes (n = 60, aged 9.0 ± 0.9) were randomly assigned to three diverse conditions during a school year: two PE lessons/week (PE-2), three PE lessons/week (PE-3), and no PE lessons control group (CG). BMI, skinfolds, PF (9-min run/walk, sit-up, modified pull-ups), gymnastics, soccer, handball, basketball and track-and-field skills were evaluated. Effect sizes (d) were reported as magnitude of change. Skinfolds significantly increased only in CG (d = 1.21). PF composite z-scores improved in PE-3 (d = 0.61), but decreased in PE-2 (d = 0.57), and had no changes in CG. Statistically significant improvement was verified in gymnastics and handball skills in both experimental groups (gymnastic: d = 2.95 and d = 2.61 for PE-3 and PE-2, respectively; handball: d = 1.87 and d = 0.57 for PE-3 and PE-2, respectively), and no changes were seen in CG. In soccer, there were improvements only in the PE-3 (d = 0.55), and in basketball only in PE-2 (d = 0.46). There were no changes in any group for track-and-field skills. PE programs can effectively promote PF and MS development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multiscale Representations for Manifold-Valued Data

We describe multiscale representations for data observed on equispaced grids and taking values in manifolds such as the sphere $S^2$, the special orthogonal group $SO(3)$, the positive definite matrices $SPD(n)$, and the Grassmann manifolds $G(n,k)$. The representations are based on the deployment of Deslauriers--Dubuc and average-interpolating pyramids "in the tangent plane" of such manifolds, using the $Exp$ and $Log$ maps of those manifolds. The representations provide "wavelet coefficients" which can be thresholded, quantized, and scaled in much the same way as traditional wavelet coefficients. Tasks such as compression, noise removal, contrast enhancement, and stochastic simulation are facilitated by this representation. The approach applies to general manifolds but is particularly suited to the manifolds we consider, i.e., Riemannian symmetric spaces, such as $S^{n-1}$, $SO(n)$, $G(n,k)$, where the $Exp$ and $Log$ maps are effectively computable. Applications to manifold-valued data sources of a geometric nature (motion, orientation, diffusion) seem particularly immediate. A software toolbox, SymmLab, can reproduce the results discussed in this paper

Scripting Module for the Satellite Orbit Analysis Program (SOAP)

This add-on module to the SOAP software can perform changes to simulation objects based on the occurrence of specific conditions. This allows the software to encompass simulation response of scheduled or physical events. Users can manipulate objects in the simulation environment under programmatic control. Inputs to the scripting module are Actions, Conditions, and the Script. Actions are arbitrary modifications to constructs such as Platform Objects (i.e. satellites), Sensor Objects (representing instruments or communication links), or Analysis Objects (user-defined logical or numeric variables). Examples of actions include changes to a satellite orbit ( v), changing a sensor-pointing direction, and the manipulation of a numerical expression. Conditions represent the circumstances under which Actions are performed and can be couched in If-Then-Else logic, like performing v at specific times or adding to the spacecraft power only when it is being illuminated by the Sun. The SOAP script represents the entire set of conditions being considered over a specific time interval. The output of the scripting module is a series of events, which are changes to objects at specific times. As the SOAP simulation clock runs forward, the scheduled events are performed. If the user sets the clock back in time, the events within that interval are automatically undone. This script offers an interface for defining scripts where the user does not have to remember the vocabulary of various keywords. Actions can be captured by employing the same user interface that is used to define the objects themselves. Conditions can be set to invoke Actions by selecting them from pull-down lists. Users define the script by selecting from the pool of defined conditions. Many space systems have to react to arbitrary events that can occur from scheduling or from the environment. For example, an instrument may cease to draw power when the area that it is tasked to observe is not in view. The contingency of the planetary body blocking the line of sight is a condition upon which the power being drawn is set to zero. It remains at zero until the observation objective is again in view. Computing the total power drawn by the instrument over a period of days or weeks can now take such factors into consideration. What makes the architecture especially powerful is that the scripting module can look ahead and behind in simulation time, and this temporal versatility can be leveraged in displays such as x-y plots. For example, a plot of a satellite s altitude as a function of time can take changes to the orbit into account

Video Game–Based Exercise, Latino Children's Physical Health, and Academic Achievement

BackgroundThere is a paucity of research investigating the effects of innovative physical activity programs on physical health and academic performance in the Latino population.PurposeTo examine the impact of Dance Dance Revolution [DDR]–based exercise on Latino children's physical fitness and academic achievement.DesignA repeated-measures crossover design was used. In Year 1, Grade-4 students were assigned to the intervention group and offered 30 minutes of exercise (DDR, aerobic dance) three times per week. Grade-3 and Grade-5 students made up the comparison group and were offered no structured exercise at school. In Year 2, the Grade-4 students were again assigned to the intervention, whereas Grade-5 and Grade-6 students were in the comparison group.Setting/participantsAssessments were conducted with 208 Latino school children.Main outcome measuresThe baseline measures included time to complete a 1-mile run, BMI, and reading and math scores. Data were collected again 9 months later. Overall, data were collected in 2009–2011 and analyzed in 2012.ResultsData yielded significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups in differences in 1-mile run and math scores in Year 1 and Year 2. The results also revealed net differences in the intervention versus comparison group scores on the 1-mile run for Grade 3 (p<0.01). Additionally, children's yearly pre-test and post-test BMI group changes differed (χ2(2)=6.6, p<0.05) only for the first year of intervention.ConclusionsThe DDR-based exercise intervention improved children's cardiorespiratory endurance and math scores over time. Professionals should consider integrating exergaming at schools to achieve the goals of promoting a physically active lifestyle and enhancing academic success among Latino children