To Index or Not to Index: Optimizing Exact Maximum Inner Product Search

Exact Maximum Inner Product Search (MIPS) is an important task that is widely pertinent to recommender systems and high-dimensional similarity search. The brute-force approach to solving exact MIPS is computationally expensive, thus spurring recent development of novel indexes and pruning techniques for this task. In this paper, we show that a hardware-efficient brute-force approach, blocked matrix multiply (BMM), can outperform the state-of-the-art MIPS solvers by over an order of magnitude, for some -- but not all -- inputs. In this paper, we also present a novel MIPS solution, MAXIMUS, that takes advantage of hardware efficiency and pruning of the search space. Like BMM, MAXIMUS is faster than other solvers by up to an order of magnitude, but again only for some inputs. Since no single solution offers the best runtime performance for all inputs, we introduce a new data-dependent optimizer, OPTIMUS, that selects online with minimal overhead the best MIPS solver for a given input. Together, OPTIMUS and MAXIMUS outperform state-of-the-art MIPS solvers by 3.2$\times$ on average, and up to 10.9$\times$, on widely studied MIPS datasets.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Reform of the Doctrine of Utmost Good Faith: A Comparative Study between the UK and Saudi Arabia

In the UK and Saudi Arabia, it is necessary for the contracting parties in insurance contracts to comply with the requirement of the doctrine of utmost good faith. In recent years, the doctrine of utmost good faith and the mutual duties of the contracting parties have developed in different ways in each jurisdiction. Both jurisdictions provide consumer protection in insurance markets by Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representation) Act 2012 in the UK and Insurance Consumer Protection Principles 2014 in Saudi Arabia. However, there are many differences between the conduct of each jurisdiction since the coming into force of the Insurance Act 2015 in the UK, which revolutionised the insurance law in several key areas. This thesis particularly aims to critically analyse the reform of the doctrine of utmost good faith and looks at how the current reform impacts on the interpretation of this doctrine between the UK and Saudi jurisdictions. This study critically analyses the insureds’ pre-contractual duties for consumers and businesses in the UK with a comparison to Saudi la

Legal Characterization of the Challenges Faced by the Construction Industry During Covid-19 And Devaluation of the Egyptian Pound

With all the challenges this past decade has inflicted on the economy on a global scale, Egypt had its share with two major events, starting with the Egyptian pound devaluation against the U.S dollar in 2016 and currently the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These major events instigated the interference of the legal/contractual sectors in the construction market to find solutions that range from agreeable to stringent to protect the assets of their beneficiaries. Both events are impactful and require extensive analysis to determine and classify each situation. This thesis addresses the implementation of standard internationally acknowledged legislative acts used in Construction Contracts but are yet to experience practically for the first time in decades, whether under Hardship “Théorie de l\u27imprévision”, Force Majeure or Change in Legislation. The purpose of this thesis is to explore and analyse the various categories which these two events are under to enable them to survive during the countries’ sudden events. A detailed research is conducted to study the impact of the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and COVID-19 in the Construction projects in Egypt to categorize each event from a legal and Contractual perspective. Data is gathered based on a survey questionnaire to explore the opinions of 75 professionals working in the construction field. In addition, one-to-one interviews are conducted with selective members of the Construction/ Law industry followed by interviews with three different Construction Companies (Employer, Consultant and Contractor) to get their professional opinion on how COVID-19 and Devaluation of the Egyptian Pound are categorised from a legal perspective. Combining the findings from the survey and interviews along with the literature, the decision flowchart model is created. To validate the results obtained, the research findings along with the decision flowchart are used. The findings showed that the event of the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound is considered a Change in Legislation while the COVID-19 is considered a Hardship. The formulated Flowchart will be used as a guidance to enable users to categorize future similar events

Attitudes of intellectual disabled children's teachers towards E-learning during Corona pandemic

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of intellectual disabled children 's teachers towards E-learning during Corona pandemic. The descriptive and analytical method was used. Teachers from the primary stage in special education were selected for data collection.  An online questionnaire was used to collect data from the target teachers. Data were collected via an online questionnaire survey. e-learning during the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic provides flexibility in Lesson planning, implementation and evaluation

The Effect of Supply Chain Management Practices on Strategic Flexibility: Applied Study on the Jordanian Manufacturing Companies

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of supply chain management practices on the strategic flexibility of Jordanian manufacturing companies listed in Amman stock exchange and working in international markets, which amount (47) companies. The sample of study composed of (93) managers working in the target companies. In order to achieve the study objectives, the researcher designed a questionnaire consisting of (32) paragraph to collect the required data from study sample. The multiple regression analysis was used to testing the hypotheses. Empirical results found that the supply chain management practices has a positive impact on strategic flexibility, and the highest impact was for the relationship with customers, while the lowest impact was for the quality of information sharing. Also the study results found that the information sharing level has the highest impact on market flexibility and the strategic partnership with supplier has the highest impact on production flexibility, while the relationship with customers has the highest impact on competitive flexibility. Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Management Practices, Strategic Flexibility, Market Flexibility, Production Flexibility, Competitive Flexibility

Consequences of Coronavirus as a Predictor of Emotional Security among Mothers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Parents of children with intellectual disability (ID) suffer from comparatively emotional insecurity compared to parents of children without ID, especially during periods of crisis, such as the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the consequences of Coronavirus as a predictor of emotional security among mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. Mothers of children with intellectual disabilities were considered for data collection. The study group of the research consists of 120 mothers who have children with intellectual disabilities. They aged 23-55 years, (M= 43.23, SE=0.075). Consequences of Coronavirus Questionnaire (CCQ-20) and Emotional Security Scale (ESS-20) were used to collect and analyze data. For this study, quantitative survey research was employed. The independent variable is the consequences of Coronavirus, and emotional security is the dependent variable. The independent variable is the consequences of Coronavirus, and emotional security is the dependent variable. To test the hypotheses of the study, Pearson correlation and Linear regression analysis were conducted. Findings indicate that the independent variable (Coronavirus) contributed to the prediction of emotional security among mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. Findings of the current study indicate that the greater the Consequences of Corona, the less emotionally secure the mother is likely to feel during the COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia

Chasing after Huntington\u27s third wave of democratization: the Middle East under change

Escaping Huntington\u27s three waves of democracy, the Middle East has become a phenomenon. Ever since, the Middle East scholars attempted extensively to rationalize the prevailing authoritarian regimes over the past four decades; a number of theories were proposed to address such a paradox. Studying authoritarianism has denied the Middle East academic society the chance to predict the current wave of political change that is being witnessed in the region. A draw back that could be believed to have left researchers with limited theoretical explanations for the on going experience, but that could always remain superficial. in fact a number of theories on authoritarianism still carry an explanatory power, though remain sometimes insensitive to the differences between experiences, for theorizing the wave of political change in the region . Principles such as authoritarian coercive apparatus, the lack of associational life, the weak institutional structure, and the non-existence of civil liberties, represents a dichotomy that in a way can help understanding the endurance of authoritarianism over the past four decades, while on another note still can rationalize the reasons that provoked the Arab uprisings. This paper searches for variables that could validate the usefulness of the theories on authoritarianism for anticipating such a turn out of events

Inhibition of KDM4 with QC6352 to Target High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a malignancy of improperly maturated nerve tissues of the sympathetic nervous system. It is the most diagnosed extracranial solid tumor of childhood, and it accounts for roughly up to 10% of all childhood malignancies and 15% of all childhood malignancy-related deaths. MYCN amplification, occurring in 20-25% of all NB patients and 50% of all high-risk NB patients, is the well-characterized genetic abnormality and is associated with ill-fated outcomes. Regrettably, in spite of the contemporary therapeutic advances and aggressive combinatorial treatments, the overall 5-year event-free survival rate is roughly 51% with a 5-year overall survival rate of nearly 63%. Unfortunately, close to 50% of high-risk NB patients develop disease relapses, which are largely incurable with no salvageable therapies so far. Recent evidence highlights that NB exhibits two cellular heterogeneities, namely adrenergic (ADRN) and mesenchymal (MES), which are tightly controlled by core regulatory circuitry-transcription factors (CRC-TFs). Driven by super-enhancers, these CRC-TFs, produce interrelated, feed-forward transcriptional loops that ultimately reinforce a specific gene expression program that defines the cellular state and identity of the cell. We showed that histone lysine demethylase subfamily 4 (KDM4) protein expression was higher in MYCN-amplified (MNA) NB cell lines and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) compared with non-MNA counterparts. Additionally, genetic depletion of KDM4 correlated with reduced proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, forced MYCN overexpression in MES-dominant NB cells facilitated MES to ADRN cellular state shift that was accompanied by induction of KDM4 proteins. Through various functional and genetic assays, we further validated the importance of the MYCN/KDM4/ADRN CRC-TF axis in maintaining the ADRN cellular state of NB. In view of these thrilling results, we opted to expand the clinical utility and examine the prospect of pharmacologic inhibition of KDM4 with QC6352, a selective and potent KDM4 inhibitor. Our data depicted that monotherapy QC6352 was selectively sensitive against MNA NB cells in vitro. Additionally, monotherapy QC6352 depicted satisfactory antitumor activities in high-risk cell line-based xenografts (NB1691), PDXs, and TH-MYCN/ALKF1178L transgenic mouse model in vivo. Molecularly, QC6352 reduced the mRNA and protein levels of oncogenic drivers and various ADRN CRC-TFs. Interestingly, QC6352 also decreased KDM4 expression at the translational protein level. Additionally, QC6352 culminated in favorable anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo, reflected by differentiation induction, apoptosis instigation, DNA damage, cell cycle cessation, and interestingly type-I interferon reactivation. Epigenomic-based investigations utilizing assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq) showed QC6352 reduced chromatin accessibility of MYCN and ADRN CRC-TFs, whereas chromatin immunoprecipitation with sequencing (ChIP-seq) and cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&TAG) analyses showed KDM4 proteins were bound to genomic loci of MYCN and ADRN CRC-TFs, and QC6352 treatment promoted induction of the transcriptional repressive H3K9me3 mark. Lastly, combination therapy comprising QC6352 and standard-of-care chemotherapeutics (vincristine and irinotecan) led to 100% complete response in MNA NB xenografts without overt toxicity and accompanied by prolongation of survival. All in all, this research offers a solid proof-of-concept that pharmacologic inhibition of KDM4 with QC6352 may be translated from bench to bedside as a novel therapeutic tactic for high-risk MNA NB patients. Moreover, two orthogonal drug screens comprising CRISPR-Cas9 knockout (metabolism and kinase libraries), and high-throughput PRISM analysis highlighted enhanced anticancer effects between QC6352 and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition. We demonstrated that combination of QC6352 and some mTOR inhibitors resulted in enhanced anticancer effects in vitro in several MNA and non-MNA NB cells. Functional genetic assays to validate the enhanced anticancer effects between dual KDM4 and mTOR inhibition failed. Lastly, combination of QC6352+rapamycin did not result in enhanced anticancer effects in SKNAS xenografts in vivo. Unless more in vivo work is performed, the present findings do not provide a compelling motivation to combine QC6352 with mTOR inhibition in the treatment of NB tumors