Narrative Generation in Entertainment: Using Artificial Intelligence Planning

From the field of artificial intelligence (AI) there is a growing stream of technology capable of being embedded in software that will reshape the way we interact with our environment in our everyday lives. This ‘AI software’ is often used to tackle more mundane tasks that are otherwise dangerous or meticulous for a human to accomplish. One particular area, explored in this paper, is for AI software to assist in supporting the enjoyable aspects of the lives of humans. Entertainment is one of these aspects, and often includes storytelling in some form no matter what the type of media, including television, films, video games, etc. This paper aims to explore the ability of AI software to automate the story-creation and story-telling process. This is part of the field of Automatic Narrative Generator (ANG), which aims to produce intuitive interfaces to support people (without any previous programming experience) to use tools to generate stories, based on their ideas of the kind of characters, intentions, events and spaces they want to be in the story. The paper includes details of such AI software created by the author that can be downloaded and used by the reader for this purpose. Applications of this kind of technology include the automatic generation of story lines for ‘soap operas’

Comment: On Random Scan Gibbs Samplers

Comment on ``On Random Scan Gibbs Samplers'' [arXiv:0808.3852]Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-STS252B the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

The Limiting Speed of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor

Recent experiments on the bacterial flagellar motor have shown that the structure of this nanomachine, which drives locomotion in a wide range of bacterial species, is more dynamic than previously believed. Specifically, the number of active torque-generating units (stators) was shown to vary across applied loads. This finding invalidates the experimental evidence reporting that limiting (zero-torque) speed is independent of the number of active stators. Here, we propose that, contrary to previous assumptions, the maximum speed of the motor is not universal, but rather increases as additional torque-generators are recruited. This result arises from our assumption that stators disengage from the motor for a significant portion of their mechanochemical cycles at low loads. We show that this assumption is consistent with current experimental evidence and consolidate our predictions with arguments that a processive motor must have a high duty ratio at high loads.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures (main text); 7 pages, 3 figures (supplementary

Feeder Cattle Costs and Returns, 1940-1952

Farm Management,

Mechanics of torque generation in the bacterial flagellar motor

The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is responsible for driving bacterial locomotion and chemotaxis, fundamental processes in pathogenesis and biofilm formation. In the BFM, torque is generated at the interface between transmembrane proteins (stators) and a rotor. It is well-established that the passage of ions down a transmembrane gradient through the stator complex provides the energy needed for torque generation. However, the physics involved in this energy conversion remain poorly understood. Here we propose a mechanically specific model for torque generation in the BFM. In particular, we identify two fundamental forces involved in torque generation: electrostatic and steric. We propose that electrostatic forces serve to position the stator, while steric forces comprise the actual 'power stroke'. Specifically, we predict that ion-induced conformational changes about a proline 'hinge' residue in an $\alpha$-helix of the stator are directly responsible for generating the power stroke. Our model predictions fit well with recent experiments on a single-stator motor. Furthermore, we propose several experiments to elucidate the torque-speed relationship in motors where the number of stators may not be constant. The proposed model provides a mechanical explanation for several fundamental features of the flagellar motor, including: torque-speed and speed-ion motive force relationships, backstepping, variation in step sizes, and the puzzle of swarming experiments

Testing Binary Population Synthesis Models with Hot Subdwarfs

Models of binary star interactions have been successful in explaining the origin of field hot subdwarf (sdB) stars in short period systems, but longer-period systems that formed via Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF) mass transfer from the present sdB to its companion have received less attention. We map sets of initial binaries into present-day binaries that include sdBs and main-sequence stars, distinguishing "observable" sdBs from "hidden" ones. We aim to find out whether (1) the existing catalogues of sdBs are sufficiently fair samples of all the kinds of sdB binaries that theory predicts; or instead whether (2) large predicted hidden populations mandate the construction of new catalogues, perhaps using wide-field imaging surveys such as 2MASS, SDSS, and Galex. We also report on a pilot study to identify hidden subdwarfs, using 2MASS and GALEX data.Comment: 3 pages with 2 figures. Uses AIP style files. To appear in Future Directions in Ultraviolet Astronomy, ed. Michael E. VanSteenberg (AIP Conf Proc

Blackbirds

The term blackbird loosely refers to a diverse group of about 10 species of North American birds that belong to the avian family Icteridae. The most common species include: Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) Yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) Brewer’s blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) Rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) In addition to blackbirds, this family includes orioles, meadowlarks, and bobolinks. Human-Wildlife Conflicts 1 Damage Identification 3 Management Methods 4 Economics 7 Species Overview 8 Legal Status 11 Glossary & Key Words 12 Resources 13 Appendices Damage Prevention and Control Methods for Blackbirds. Range Maps of Common Blackbird Species. Characteristics of Selected Blackbird Species