Albinism in \u3ci\u3eOlivierus martensii\u3c/i\u3e (Karsch, 1879) (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

This is a formal case report for the albinism in Olivierus martensii (Karsch, 1879). Albino phenotype is compared with its normal counterpart in terms of their morphology and behavior by cursory experiments. The examined 7 albino individuals (5 of which were adults) were smaller and more slender than their normal counterparts. However, these quantitative differences were not statistically significant and should be treated with caution due to the low sample size. Their abilities to detect both white light and UV light or UV-excited fluorescence were not significantly undermined, although their tendency to ensure a clear vision through self-cleaning behavior appeared to be reduced. Their heightened visibility on dark, leafmould substrate and greater crypticity on yellowish gravels may play a significant role in their natural survival. Additional evidence is required to substantiate this hypothesis as the function of scorpion coloration has been hardly studied. Several theoretical assumptions were proposed following a literature review on scorpion coloration and fluorescence, and this paper also serves as a brief synopsis of those aspects. Other three rare phenotypes in this species are also reported, defined here as piebaldism, hypomelanism and leucism. Given their existence, it is suggested that the loss of melanin in the epidermis beneath the ocelli is diagnostic for albinism in scorpions

Three new species of genus \u3ci\u3eScorpiops\u3c/i\u3e Peters, 1861 from Tibet, China (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae), with implications for the diagnostic values of qualitative characters

Three new species of genus Scorpiops Peters, 1861 are described from Tibet Autonomous Region, China. S. deshpandei sp. n. is described based on an adult male and an immature pair collected from Mêdog County, Nyingchi, with additional molecular evidence substantiating its validity against S. longimanus Pocock, 1893. S. kovariki sp. n. is featured by a single adult female from Zayü. This species is only weakly supported by its genetic distance from S. jendeki Kovařík, 1994, but empirical understanding of the morphological variation in Scorpiops species motivated us to consider them as distinct. S. matthewi sp. n. is based on three adult females, all collected from Xigazê. Its species delineation is based solely on morphological characteristics due to the lack of material of its morphological relative (S. rufus Lv & Di, 2023). New specimens of S. margerisonae Kovařík, 2000 are obtained from Nyêmo, Lhasa, and compared with S. wrzecionkoi Kovařík, 2020. A new term, “ocular islet”, is introduced to portray the periocular morphology of Scorpiops median ocelli, categorized into four preliminary types. Finally, a comparative matrix summarizing the quantitative and qualitative diagnostic characters of Tibetan Scorpiops species based on preceding publications is provided

On the Properties of Kullback-Leibler Divergence Between Multivariate Gaussian Distributions

Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence is one of the most important divergence measures between probability distributions. In this paper, we prove several properties of KL divergence between multivariate Gaussian distributions. First, for any two $n$-dimensional Gaussian distributions $\mathcal{N}_1$ and $\mathcal{N}_2$, we give the supremum of $KL(\mathcal{N}_1||\mathcal{N}_2)$ when $KL(\mathcal{N}_2||\mathcal{N}_1)\leq \varepsilon\ (\varepsilon>0)$. For small $\varepsilon$, we show that the supremum is $\varepsilon + 2\varepsilon^{1.5} + O(\varepsilon^2)$. This quantifies the approximate symmetry of small KL divergence between Gaussians. We also find the infimum of $KL(\mathcal{N}_1||\mathcal{N}_2)$ when $KL(\mathcal{N}_2||\mathcal{N}_1)\geq M\ (M>0)$. We give the conditions when the supremum and infimum can be attained. Second, for any three $n$-dimensional Gaussians $\mathcal{N}_1$, $\mathcal{N}_2$, and $\mathcal{N}_3$, we find an upper bound of $KL(\mathcal{N}_1||\mathcal{N}_3)$ if $KL(\mathcal{N}_1||\mathcal{N}_2)\leq \varepsilon_1$ and $KL(\mathcal{N}_2||\mathcal{N}_3)\leq \varepsilon_2$ for $\varepsilon_1,\varepsilon_2\ge 0$. For small $\varepsilon_1$ and $\varepsilon_2$, we show the upper bound is $3\varepsilon_1+3\varepsilon_2+2\sqrt{\varepsilon_1\varepsilon_2}+o(\varepsilon_1)+o(\varepsilon_2)$. This reveals that KL divergence between Gaussians follows a relaxed triangle inequality. Importantly, all the bounds in the theorems presented in this paper are independent of the dimension $n$. Finally, We discuss the applications of our theorems in explaining counterintuitive phenomenon of flow-based model, deriving deep anomaly detection algorithm, and extending one-step robustness guarantee to multiple steps in safe reinforcement learning.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2002.0332

BPCoach: Exploring Hero Drafting in Professional MOBA Tournaments via Visual Analytics

Hero drafting for multiplayer online arena (MOBA) games is crucial because drafting directly affects the outcome of a match. Both sides take turns to "ban"/"pick" a hero from a roster of approximately 100 heroes to assemble their drafting. In professional tournaments, the process becomes more complex as teams are not allowed to pick heroes used in the previous rounds with the "best-of-N" rule. Additionally, human factors including the team's familiarity with drafting and play styles are overlooked by previous studies. Meanwhile, the huge impact of patch iteration on drafting strengths in the professional tournament is of concern. To this end, we propose a visual analytics system, BPCoach, to facilitate hero drafting planning by comparing various drafting through recommendations and predictions and distilling relevant human and in-game factors. Two case studies, expert feedback, and a user study suggest that BPCoach helps determine hero drafting in a rounded and efficient manner.Comment: Accepted by The 2024 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW) (Proc. CSCW 2024

Semiquantum key distribution using initial states in only one basis without the classical user measuring

From the perspective of resource theory, it is interesting to achieve the same quantum task using as few quantum resources as possible. Semiquantum key distribution (SQKD), which allows a quantum user to share a confidential key with a classical user who prepares and operates qubits in only one basis, is an important example for studying this issue. To further limit the quantum resources used by users, in this paper, we constructed the first SQKD protocol which restricts the quantum user to prepare quantum states in only one basis and removes the classical user's measurement capability. Furthermore, we prove that the constructed protocol is unconditionally secure by deriving a key rate expression of the error rate in the asymptotic scenario. The work of this paper provides inspiration for achieving quantum superiority with minimal quantum resources.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Bioinformatics Resources and Tools for Conformational B-Cell Epitope Prediction

Identification of epitopes which invoke strong humoral responses is an essential issue in the field of immunology. Localizing epitopes by experimental methods is expensive in terms of time, cost, and effort; therefore, computational methods feature for its low cost and high speed was employed to predict B-cell epitopes. In this paper, we review the recent advance of bioinformatics resources and tools in conformational B-cell epitope prediction, including databases, algorithms, web servers, and their applications in solving problems in related areas. To stimulate the development of better tools, some promising directions are also extensively discussed

Soybean Breeding on Seed Composition Trait

Soybean is a most important crop providing edible oil and plant protein source for human beings, in addition to animal feed because of high protein and oil content. This review summarized the progresses in the QTL mapping, candidate gene cloning and functional analysis and also the regulation of soybean oil and seed storage protein accumulation. Furthermore, as soybean genome has been sequenced and released, prospects of multiple omics and advanced biotechnology should be combined and applied for further refine research and high-quality breeding

Discovery of enhanced lattice dynamics in a single-layered hybrid perovskite

Layered hybrid perovskites have attracted much attention in recent years due to their emergent physical properties and exceptional functional performances, but the coexistence of lattice order and structural disorder severely hinders our understanding of these materials. One unsolved problem regards how the lattice dynamics are affected by the dimensional engineering of the inorganic frameworks and the interaction with the molecular moieties. Here, we address this question by using a combination of high-resolution spontaneous Raman scattering, high-field terahertz spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations. This approach enables us to reveal the structural vibrations and disorder in and out of equilibrium and provides surprising observables that differentiate single- and double-layered perovskites. While no distinct vibrational coherence is observed in double-layer perovskites, we discover that an off-resonant terahertz pulse can selectively drive a long-lived coherent phonon mode through a two-photon process in the single-layered system. This difference highlights the dramatic change in the lattice environment as the dimension is reduced. The present findings pave the way for the ultrafast structural engineering of hybrid lattices as well as for developing high-speed optical modulators based on layered perovskites