Macro Language Research Articles

Generation of kth-order random toposequences

The model presented in this paper derives toposequences from a digital elevation model (DEM). It is written in ArcInfo Macro Language (AML). The toposequences are called kth-order random toposequences, because they take a random path uphill to the top of a hill and downhill to a stream or valley bottom from a randomly selected seed point, and they are located in a streamshed of order k according to a particular stream-ordering system. We define a kth-order streamshed as the area of land that drains directly to a stream segment of stream order k. The model attempts to optimise the spatial configuration of a set of derived toposequences iteratively by using simulated annealing to maximise the total sum of distances between each toposequence hilltop in the set.The user is able to select the order, k, of the derived toposequences. Toposequences are useful for determining soil sampling locations for use in collecting soil data for digital soil mapping applications. Sampling locations can be allocated according to equal elevation or equal-distance intervals along the length of the toposequence, for example.We demonstrate the use of this model for a study area in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. Of the 64 toposequences derived, 32 were first-order random toposequences according to Strahler's stream-ordering system, and 32 were second-order random toposequences.The model that we present in this paper is an efficient method for sampling soil along soil toposequences. The soils along a toposequence are related to each other by the topography they are found in, so soil data collected by this method is useful for establishing soil–landscape rules for the preparation of digital soil maps.

Alternative Contexts of Language Policy and Planning in Sub‐Saharan Africa

My main contention in this article is that the nation‐state paradigm for policies targeted at effecting development in sub‐Saharan Africa is undermined by arbitrary colonial boundaries and porous borders and the challenges of transnationalism as part of the globalization phenomenon in late modernity. The nation‐state paradigm is also the framework for guaranteed dominance of English and French, the two main excolonial official languages of sub‐Saharan Africa, because the indigenous languages, at least theoretically, operate within ethnic boundaries. I cite evidence of internal migration and displacement across national boundaries to argue that policies which are coterminous with these boundaries motivate people to move. I suggest that the treatment of boundaries as zones of continuity rather than discontinuity will allow for the development of stronger interstate agencies within which framework projects may be better managed. I present evidence of the difficulty in pushing macro—language policy and planning and make a case for micro—language policy and planning not only as a more viable alternative in the region but also one for which success is easier to measure.

On Language Management in Multinational Companies in the Czech Republic

In this paper, we demonstrate the dialectical relationship between micro and macro language planning: macro planning influences micro planning and yet macro planning results (or should result) from micro planning. The relation between the two planning perspectives is illustrated within the framework of Language Management Theory (Jernudd & Neustupný, 1987; Neustupný & Nekvapil, 2003). We deal with the relations between various levels of ‘organised management’, and with the role of the ‘simple, i.e. discourse-based management’ in organised language management. Attention is also given to the impact of organised language management on naturally occurring discourses and discourse-based management. The paper is empirically based on research carried out during the past two years in branches of multinational companies or corporations founded in the Czech Republic by German, Austrian or Swiss owners. We focus primarily on the situation in a subsidiary of a Siemens corporation. The languages which have become the subject of management activities here are German, English, and Czech. The data we work with were obtained using various types of interviews (semi-structured, follow-up) as well as audio-recordings and participant observation.

A GIS-Based Method to Determine Maximum Fetch Applied to the North Sea–Baltic Sea Transition

Abstract A GIS-based method that uses the visibility principle to calculate maximum fetch is presented. The software was programmed in the Arc macro language and implemented with the use of the GRID-based functions of the ArcInfo Workstation GIS. Applying L/4 as the effective wavebase and existing wind statistics, use of the method is exemplified by calculating the yearly resuspension frequency in the North Sea–Baltic Sea transition area.

Analyzing Repeated Measures Marginal Models on Sample Surveys with Resampling Methods

Packaged statistical software for analyzing categorical, repeated measures marginal models on sample survey data with binary covariates does not appear to be available. Consequently, this report describes a customized SAS program which accomplishes such an analysis on survey data with jackknifed replicate weights for which the primary sampling unit information has been suppressed for respondent confidentiality. First, the program employs the Macro Language and the Output Delivery System (ODS) to estimate the means and covariances of indicator variables for the response variables, taking the design into account. Then, it uses PROC CATMOD and ODS, ignoring the survey design, to obtain the design matrix and hypothesis test specifications. Finally, it enters these results into another run of CATMOD, which performs automated direct input of the survey design specifications and accomplishes the appropriate analysis. This customized SAS program can be employed, with minor editing, to analyze general categorical, repeated measures marginal models on sample surveys with replicate weights. Finally, the results of our analysis accounting for the survey design are compared to the results of two alternate analyses of the same data. This comparison confirms that such alternate analyses, which do not properly account for the design, do not produce useful results.

ASTEC

The C language is among the most widely used in the world, particularly for critical infrastructure software. C programs depend upon macros processed using the C preprocessor, but these macros are difficult to analyze and are often error-prone[4]. Existing tools that analyze and transform C source code have rudimentary support for the preprocessor, leading to obscure error messages and difficulty refactoring. We present a three part solution: (1) a replacement macro language, ASTEC, that addresses the most important important deficiencies of the preprocessor and that eliminates many of the errors it introduces; (2) a translator, MACROSCOPE, that converts existing code into ASTEC semi-automatically; and (3), an ASTEC-aware refactoring tool that handles preprocessor constructs naturally.ASTEC's primary benefits are its analyzability and its refactorability. We present several refactorings that are enabled by ASTEC. Additionally, ASTEC eliminates many of the sources of errors that can plague C preprocessor macros; Ernst et al.[4] estimate that more than 20% of macros may contain errors. In this paper, we describe our translation and refactoring tools and evaluate them on a suite of programs including OpenSSH and the Linux kernel.

Language rights: Moving the debate forward

This article provides an overview of the current issues and challenges facing the nascent paradigm of minority language rights (MLR). It focuses on the theoretical points of dispute and tension with respect to MLR, as well as the challenges attendant upon their implementation in complex, multiethnic and multilingual contexts. The article acknowledges, but also responds to, key critiques of MLR to date. These include debates about linguistic modernisation, linguistic identities and essentialism, language and social mobility, and macro and micro language practices. In light of these debates, the article speculates about possible ways forward for the MLR paradigm.

PAT: a protein analysis toolkit for integrated biocomputing on the web.

PAT, for Protein Analysis Toolkit, is an integrated biocomputing server. The main goal of its design was to facilitate the combination of different processing tools for complex protein analyses and to simplify the automation of repetitive tasks. The PAT server provides a standardized web interface to a wide range of protein analysis tools. It is designed as a streamlined analysis environment that implements many features which strongly simplify studies dealing with protein sequences and structures and improve productivity. PAT is able to read and write data in many bioinformatics formats and to create any desired pipeline by seamlessly sending the output of a tool to the input of another tool. PAT can retrieve protein entries from identifier-based queries by using pre-computed database indexes. Users can easily formulate complex queries combining different analysis tools with few mouse clicks, or via a dedicated macro language, and a web session manager provides direct access to any temporary file generated during the user session. PAT is freely accessible on the Internet at .

Sustainable management of rural landscapes: application of new routines implemented on GIS for modelling visual relationships

The purpose of this paper was to introduce a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for site selection of new buildings in rural landscapes. It is based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This process consists of a twostage methodology: namely, land suitability mapping, followed by visual interpretation of potential sites. The SDSS is part of integrated computer software which can perform both functions, being specifically developed for this purpose and registered as GISCAD 2.0. This is a programme created in ARC/INFO Macro Language (AML) programming language. This is the means to generate macros and routines in ARC/INFO versions 7 and 8 for the consecutive execution of linked commands. As regards the computer routines, they are more than a mere concatenation of orders to be carried out successively by ARC/INFO. Some of them, such as COMPOSITION.AML, BACKGROUND.AML, CAPACITY.AML, SETTLE.AML and INTEGRATION.AML, are actually a logical analysis system which provides GISCAD 2.0 with a decision-making capacity according to the information supplied. At present these routines are being worked into a fully efficient system incorporating the ability to learn from the decisions taken, and for this information to form part of the initial data for the following calculation cycle.

A methodology for preserving channel flow networks and connectivity patterns in large‐scale distributed hydrological models

AbstractPhysiographic data are often used to parameterize hydrological models and, in the past, physiographic parameters have often been derived manually. However, this can be a lengthy and unreliable process, particularly for application to a gridded hydrological or atmospheric model applied to large or continental‐scale basins. An important attribute of gridded models is drainage direction. Current methods that determine drainage directions for large or continental‐scale basins, by general circulation models (GCMs), route flow using lowest neighbour algorithms. These methods, however, do not reflect the hydrology of the basin subunit.This paper proposes a method of parameterizing hydrological models with physiographic data using the ArcInfo macro language to create an interface between the Topographic Parameterization (TOPAZ) software and the WATFLOOD hydrological model. The interface uses output raster data created by TOPAZ (i.e. drainage identification) to supply physiographic parameters required by WATFLOOD.The interface (WATPAZ) is an expert system based on a manual method of deriving parameters for the WATFLOOD distributed model. The WATPAZ interface uses grouped response units to subdivide the watershed. This allows large drainage basins to be subdivided at a scale that allows computational efficiency while preserving the hydrological variability of the watershed.To test whether the WATPAZ method improves the current GCM methodology for determining drainage directions, WATPAZ is applied on a local basin (Wolf Creek) a regional‐scale basin, (Athabasca) and a continental‐scale basin (Mackenzie).An examination of flow directions derived from this new method with current GCM methods is carried out. The results indicate that a substantial improvement is made to flow routing within the basin using the channel network to determine drainage directions for each segment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Image Analysis Algorithm for Kinematics and Morphological Measurement of Cells for the Evaluation of Tissue Construction

Image of cells has been analyzed in the various fields of biomedical engineering, such as evaluation of new drug and research of wound healing process, where the static or transient parameters, such as cell number, position, shape, and area, are usually quantified for small amount of the cells during a limited period. Therefore, the current image analysis techniques are not directly applicable for the analysis of the property of a tissue, which consists of huge number of cells. In this study, aiming at evaluation of tissue construction or reconstruction process, we developed a new image processing algorithm which could analyze the properties of huge number of cells in a tissue. The cultured human peritoneal mesothelial cells were injured mechanically by a scratch and were used as a tissue reconstruction model. The wound healing process in a CO2 incubator was visualized with a phase contrast microscope. The sequential images of the cells were acquired by a CMOS camera at intervals of one minute, and were stored in a personal computer. The stored image was converted into grayscale image with 256 levels. Based on the cell position in the flame immediately before, the region of the interest (ROI) was set for cell tracing, and the target cell was detected by processing the ROI with the Watershed method. Various parameters of the detected cell, such as centroid, area, surroundings length, circularity, and luminance, were quantified. The cell tracing algorithm was coded by the macro language of the image processing software. Through the preliminary experiments, the algorithm developed in this study could trace 88.4 ± 7.9 % of the cells detected in the initial flame.

Computing the LS factor for the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation through array-based slope processing of digital elevation data using a C++ executable

Until the mid-1990s, a major limitation of using the Universal Soil Loss Equation and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation erosion models at regional landscape scales was the difficulty in estimating LS factor (slope length and steepness) values suitable for use in geographic information systems applications. A series of ArcInfo™ Arc Macro Language scripts was subsequently created that enabled the production of either USLE- or RUSLE-based LS factor raster grids using a digital elevation model input data set. These scripts have functioned exceptionally well for both single- and multiple-watershed applications within targeted study areas. However, due to the nature and complexity of flowpath processing necessary to compute cumulative slope length, the scripts have not taken advantage of available computing resources to the extent possible. It was determined that the speed of the computer runs could be significantly increased without sacrificing accuracy in the final results by performing the majority of the elevation data processing in a two-dimensional array framework outside the ArcInfo environment. This paper describes the evolution of a major portion of the original RUSLE-based AML processing code to an array-based executable program using ANSI C++™ software. Examples of the relevant command-line arguments are provided and comparative results from several AML-vs.-executable time trials are also presented. In wide-ranging areas of the United States where it has been tested, the new RUSLE-based executable has produced LS-factor values that mimic those generated by the original AML as well as the RUSLE Handbook estimates. Anticipated uses of the executable program include water quality assessment, landscape ecology, land-use change detection studies, and decision support activities. This research has now given users the option of either running the executable file alone to process a single watershed reporting unit or running a supporting AML shell program that calls upon the executable file as necessary to perform automated processing for a user-specified number of watersheds.

Accuracy Assessment of Interstate Highway Length Using Digital Elevation Model

Road length is part of the geometry of the roadway network. Its measurement is critical to all road inventory databases. One approach to obtaining it is to drive cars equipped with a distance measurement instrument (DMI) along roads to measure mileages. This method provides accurate measurements, but it is expensive and time consuming. This paper proposes an alternative way to acquire actual road length, which is currently under consideration by the geographic information system (GIS) unit of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The emphasis of this study was to determine the accuracy of the proposed approach. The proposed approach employs GIS application programs written in ARC macro language to calculate the actual length (surface length) along the sloped surface of highway centerlines based on elevation data and the road network geometry. This was done for all interstate highways in North Carolina. The calculated GIS results were compared with DMI measurements, which is the most accurate approach presently available to NCDOT. Three filters were applied to remove suspect road segments that have significant errors which are irrelevant to the proposed approach. All remaining segments were grouped by slope and length to evaluate the impact of slope and length on the accuracy. Frequency analysis and root mean square error were determined for all groups. It was found that the proposed method is a technically feasible method with reasonable accuracy. The study also revealed that where there are errors, they occur primarily for road segments with relatively high slopes, short lengths, or both. The meaning of this is that GIS and digital elevation model technologies can be combined and used in lieu of DMI measurements, thus reducing resource demands.

Upgrading of the AMS facility at the Koffler 14UD Pelletron accelerator

The AMS facility based on a 14UD Pelletron tandem accelerator has been upgraded in recent years to support an active and diversified research program. A new dedicated AMS ion source beam line merging at 45° with the existing injection line through a 45° electrostatic deflector is in operation. The multi-sample high-intensity Cs sputter ion source stands on a separate 120 kV platform and is remote-controlled through a hybrid infrared-fiber-optics link operated either manually or by the accelerator-control computer, ensuring safe and reliable operation. Independent current preamplifiers are used in Faraday cup current readings down to the pA range. The accelerator computer-control system was upgraded to LabView 6.1, allowing a PC server to control and read out all hardware components while one or more remote PC clients run the AMS software. Ad hoc sequences of commands, written in a script macro language, are run from a client computer to perform an automated AMS measurement. The present capabilities of the facility in terms of detected radionuclides and their sensitivities are listed.

Upgrading of the AMS facility at the Koffler 14UD Pelletron accelerator

The AMS facility based on a 14UD Pelletron tandem accelerator has been upgraded in recent years to support an active and diversified research program. A new dedicated AMS ion source beam line merging at 45° with the existing injection line through a 45° electrostatic deflector is in operation. The multi-sample high-intensity Cs sputter ion source stands on a separate 120 kV platform and is remote-controlled through a hybrid infrared-fiber-optics link operated either manually or by the accelerator-control computer, ensuring safe and reliable operation. Independent current preamplifiers are used in Faraday cup current readings down to the pA range. The accelerator computer-control system was upgraded to LabView 6.1, allowing a PC server to control and read out all hardware components while one or more remote PC clients run the AMS software. Ad hoc sequences of commands, written in a script macro language, are run from a client computer to perform an automated AMS measurement. The present capabilities of the facility in terms of detected radionuclides and their sensitivities are listed.

Modeling the complexity of different, recently deglaciated soil landscapes as a function of map scale

The scale at which a soil landscape (soilscape) is viewed has a significant impact on soil pattern and interpretations made from those patterns. Recently deglaciated soilscapes are particularly spatially complex. In order to understand how scale impacts pattern on complex soilscapes, we used a GIS to examine soil maps for 13 counties in the northern United States, all affected by Late Wisconsinan glaciation. We used an Arc™ macro language script to change the map scale and, when the change was to a smaller scale, group/dissolve soil map units based on similarities to a prescribed list of neighboring map unit characteristics. Similarity criteria included drainage class, taxonomic great group, parent material and slope. Soilscape complexity was measured at nine different scales and is based on various pattern metrics: number of punctate soil units km −2, map unit polygons km −2, map unit boundary length km −2, and boundary length polygon −1 km −2. Soilscape complexity as a function of scale was then examined by regressing pattern metric data against the size of the minimum map unit for each of the nine scales. Extrapolation of the regression lines to 1:10,000 (a scale larger than is typically mapped) illustrated how much additional information might accrue if these counties were to be mapped at that larger scale. In most cases, 2–10 times more map units would have been recognized and delineated at the two times larger map scale, but map unit boundary lengths would have increased by only about 1.5 times. Whether this additional information is of such a magnitude that it could justify remapping some of these complex landscapes at larger scales is an economic decision; our study provides much needed data on the magnitude of information gained by mapping soilscapes at larger scales.

Modelling the Spatial Extent of Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand from Environmental Variables Using Remote Sensing and GIS

This study attempts to model the spatial extent of Franz Josef Glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand from environmental variables. Glacier tongue length, area, and equilibrium line altitude were measured in ArcView after 15 end‐of‐summer glacier termini were demarcated from a diverse source of remotely sensed materials that had been geometrically rectified. These tongue parameters were correlated with and regressed against mean winter (June to September) precipitation, summer (December to February) temperature, and terminal gradient. The regressed length model was used to simulate the spatial extent of the glacier tongue in ArcInfo. Modelling of the spatial extent was implemented in a two‐stage approach using Arc Macro Language. The terminus end of the glacier tongue was simulated with an empirical parabolic curve. It is found that the averaging duration of climatic variables plays a significant role in exploring their impact on the glacier tongue. Tongue area has a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.70 and 0.60, respectively, with mean monthly winter precipitation and averaged monthly summer temperature. The underlying topography exerts a significant effect on tongue morphometry that is most reliably predicted from slope gradient (β) but less so from precipitation (PPT) and temperature (T). The best models for tongue length and area are Length=4100.779−1.2346×PPT+91.9162×T−29.30×β (R2=80.77%) and Area=308.3207−0.0342×PPT+3.3100×T−0.9893×β (R2=81.51%). Through its horizontal shifting and rotation, the empirical parabolic curve enabled the terminal end of the glacier tongue to be accurately and realistically modelled from the environmental variables.

NTIS section for 26/1

Until the mid-1990s, a major limitation of using the Universal Soil Loss Equation and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation erosion models at regional landscape scales was the difficulty in estimating LS factor (slope length and steepness) values suitable for use in geographic information systems applications. A series of ArcInfo™ Arc Macro Language scripts was subsequently created that enabled the production of either USLE- or RUSLE-based LS factor raster grids using a digital elevation model input data set. These scripts have functioned exceptionally well for both single- and multiple-watershed applications within targeted study areas. However, due to the nature and complexity of flowpath processing necessary to compute cumulative slope length, the scripts have not taken advantage of available computing resources to the extent possible. It was determined that the speed of the computer runs could be significantly increased without sacrificing accuracy in the final results by performing the majority of the elevation data processing in a two-dimensional array framework outside the ArcInfo environment. This paper describes the evolution of a major portion of the original RUSLE-based AML processing code to an array-based executable program using ANSI C++™ software. Examples of the relevant command-line arguments are provided and comparative results from several AML-vs.-executable time trials are also presented. In wide-ranging areas of the United States where it has been tested, the new RUSLE-based executable has produced LS-factor values that mimic those generated by the original AML as well as the RUSLE Handbook estimates. Anticipated uses of the executable program include water quality assessment, landscape ecology, land-use change detection studies, and decision support activities. This research has now given users the option of either running the executable file alone to process a single watershed reporting unit or running a supporting AML shell program that calls upon the executable file as necessary to perform automated processing for a user-specified number of watersheds.

連続自動測定マクロ言語を装備したオープンソース電気化学測定システムの開発

An open-source electrochemical measurement system called ECHAN (ElectroCHemical ANalyzer) has been developed with Visual Basic Language. This software enables automated measurement of electrode samples with macro language successively through various electrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammetry, rotating ring-disk voltammetry, potential step chronoamperometry, current vs. rotation speed measurement and multipotentiostat measurement are all carried out with this single software. It is also equipped with a searching function by keywords and measurement conditions. After measurement, data can be processed by FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) low pass filter, smoothing by the simple moving average or the Savitzky-Golay method and operations between two data sets. It makes possible the evaluation of electro-catalysis by the Koutecky-Levich analysis, the Levich analysis, the electron number concerned with oxygen reduction reaction, chronoamperometry analysis by Cottrell's equation, coulomb number calculation and the Tafel analysis. Since an A/D board is used for data sampling, this program is applicable to a conventional potentiostat, which is usually connected to an X-Y recorder.

Direct slicing and G-code contour for rapid prototyping machine of UV resin spray using PowerSOLUTION macro commands

Rapid prototyping processes produce parts layer by layer directly from 3D CAD models. An important technique is required to slice the geometric model of a part into layers and to generate a motion code of the cross-sectional contour. Several slicing methods are available, such as slicing from sterolithgraphy (STL) files, tolerate-error slicing, adaptive slicing, direct slicing, and, adaptive and direct slicing. This paper proposes direct slicing from 3D CAD models and generating a G-code contour of each layer using PowerSOLUTION software (Delcam International, Birmingham, UK). PowerSOLUTION includes two main modules: PowerSHAPE is used to build 3D CAD models and PowerMILL is used to produce G-Code tool paths. It provides macro language, picture files and cutting paths for secondary development work. The authors used macro commands to write an interface generating direct slicing from 3D CAD models and G-code contours for all layers. Most well-known controllers in the market accept the G-Code. Therefore, it is easier to apply this scheme in a CNC-machining center to produce rapid prototyping such as laminated object manufacturing (LOM) for complex geometries. The interface was successfully applied the interface to the UV resin spray rapid prototyping (UVRS-RP) machine that was developed to produce RP.