VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Towards Fail-in-Place Server Operation in Cloud Platforms
Keywords: cloud computing
data centers

Hardware failure in datacenters is becoming a more challenging problem as the size of datacenter increases. Current cloud platforms handle hardware failures by sending technicians for an immediate repair, which becomes inefficient and unsustainable at scale. For example, each technician is responsible for maintaining 1,000 servers on average in modern datacenters. The number of technicians scales linearly with the size of datacenters under immediate service model. Moreover, future datacenter designs confine servers into closed-space environments to increase power efficiency. Forexample, Microsoft has been experimenting with encapsulating servers into sealed containers that are placed on the ocean floor. Immediate service becomes infeasible with such design; instead, a paradigm shift to the Fail-in-Place is required, where no repairs are performed until the entirecluster is decommissioned. This thesis introduces Tetra, a novel design of datacenter stacks that provides support for hosting VMs when hardware failures occur. Under air-cooled datacenters, Tetra employs repair batching with tunable repair frequency to improve efficiency. Tetra aligns with denser datacenter trend by reducing required technicians to scale sublinearly with the number of servers. As a first attempt atimplementing the Fail-in-Place paradigm, Tetra supports closed-space server environment design byforegoing repairs on components that fails most frequently. Under evaluations with real-world data, Tetra reduces operation costs on fan-cooled datacenters by reducing repairing needs by 80% while maintaining Service Level Objectives (SLOs) in key performance metrics. With immersion-cooled technology and future server designs, Tetra eliminatesthe need for repairs without having any impact on VM scheduling.
Social Anxiety and Friendship Quality: The Role of Anger Suppression
Keywords: anger suppression
emotional expression
friendship quality
self-criticism
social anxiety

Social anxiety has been linked to poor friendship quality, although it remains unclear why this association exists. The present study investigated anger suppression as a possible mechanism by which social anxiety influences friendship quality. 115 participants completed self-report measures of social anxiety, depression, anger suppression, self-criticism, and friendship quality. After controlling for depression, higher social anxiety was found to be associated with greater anger suppression. In addition, greater anger suppression was associated with poorer friendship quality. However, contrary to what was hypothesized, social anxiety was not significantly associated with friendship quality after controlling for depression. A moderated mediation analysis was conducted to determine if self-criticism moderated the mediated relationship between social anxiety, anger suppression, and friendship quality through its effects on the relationship between social anxiety and anger suppression. Evidence for moderated mediation was not found. These findings provide insight into the social and emotional functioning of individuals with social anxiety, thus illuminating potential targets for intervention and areas for future research.
Implementing a Thermal Proteome Profiling Assay to Probe Off-Target Effects of Novel GID4 Binder
Keywords: CTLH Complex
Thermal Proteome Profiling

Thermal proteome profiling (TPP) is a chemoproteomic approach to identify the protein:small molecule interactors. It relies on shifts in thermal stability of proteins when a small molecule binds to them. This is done by creating thermal denaturation curves at the scale of the proteome and finding proteins that have changes in denaturation or “melting” temperature. In this thesis, I first implemented a TPP pipeline and optimized it with previously published compounds methotrexate and staurosporine. I later used TPP on a novel GID4 binder. GID4 is the substrate binding domain of the CTLH complex, a conserved RING E3 ligase complex found across eukaryotic species. GID4 is responsible for binding to a peptide motif known as a “degron” and recruit it to the RING domain of the E3 ligase so it can be ubiquitinated. Through a collaboration with the Sicheri lab, we found 2 lead compounds (Cmpd67 and Cmpd88) that bind to GID4. Of the two compounds, Cmpd88 had the highest affinity and was cell permeable. With TPP, I found 15 potential interactors of Cmpd88 with GID4 being the compound significantly shifting the most. These results will inform future efforts to use Cmpd88 in a therapeutic context such as targeted protein degradation.
Sex-related Differences in Healthcare Access and Utilization in Adult Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis in Ontario
Keywords: ankylosing spondylitis
healthcare utilization
psoriatic arthritis
rheumatoid arthritis
sex and gender
sex differences

This thesis compared healthcare access and utilization between male and female patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) in Ontario. Using Ontario health administrative data, inception cohorts of adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) diagnosed between 2010 and 2017 were assembled. Annual healthcare access and utilization patterns were assessed for 3 years before and after diagnosis, and compared between male and female patients using regression models. Before and after diagnosis, female patients were more likely to visit family physicians and rheumatologists, and undergo musculoskeletal imaging and laboratory tests across the cohorts. Opioids and NSAIDs were more likely to be dispensed to older female RA patients and, conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs to older female AS patients. In summary, female IA patients have higher musculoskeletal-related healthcare utilization than male patients, either due to biological differences in disease activity or sociocultural differences in healthcare seeking behaviour.
Approaching a Cultural Understanding of Suicide and Complex Death Among Older Indigenous Adults: Perspectives of Indigenous Elders
Keywords: Culture
Elders
Indigenous
Suicide

Indigenous people across Canada are disproportionately affected by suicide. Yet, little research has been conducted that examines how older Indigenous adults are impacted. Additionally, cultural factors of suicide are often overlooked. This research aimed to center the voices of Indigenous Elders to contribute to nuanced conceptualizations of the meaning of suicide within Indigenous populations to include key cultural dimensions and the experiences of older Indigenous peoples. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were held with six Indigenous Elders. Narrative analysis revealed three main themes and several subthemes related to meanings of death, complex death, and suicide, and three main themes with several subthemes related to ecological contexts of suicide. Results indicate a need to rethink conventional definitions of suicide to include a deeper understanding of complex death and relational and spiritual dimensions. The findings also indicated a need to address systemic racism, structural violence, and economic marginalization of Indigenous populations.
Synthesis and Characterization of MAA-Containing Polyol Latexes Tested in Model 2K-WPU Mixtures and Coatings
Keywords: 2K-WPU
coatings
FRET
polyurethane
sustainability
thermoset

Waterborne two-component polyurethane (2K-WPU) films are safer, more environmentally friendly, and less hazardous than their solventborne counterparts. However, due to the complex interplay between polymer diffusion and colloidal forces, today’s researchers do not have a complete understanding of the mechanisms that underlie 2K-WPU behavior. To advance this knowledge, the Winnik group created a model 2K-WPU system consisting of methacrylic acid (MAA)-containing polyol latexes and a commercially available hmPIC, both of which were functionalized with fluorescent dyes. By studying these systems with dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), several conclusions were made. It was found that MAA functionalization reduces aggregation in 2K-WPU dispersions, while also increasing the rate of hmPIC consumption. Most interestingly, increasing amounts of MAA increased the extent of hmPIC/polyol mixing in both dispersed and film phases, which may improve 2K-WPU physical properties.
Predicting Shear Behaviour of Joints Using Multi-Sensor and Manual Core Logging Data and Supervised and Unsupervised Learning Methods
Keywords: Joint Alteration
Joint Roughness Coefficient
Multi-Sensor Core Logging
Residual Friction Angle
Shear Behaviour of Joints
Shear Strength

Joint surface characteristics significantly influence the shear behavior of discontinuity and the geomechanical design of a surface and underground excavation. Conventional core logging method for joint surface characterization is subjective and inconsistent. Sensor-based technologies can be adopted for surface characterization.This thesis compares manual and multi-sensor joint surface characterization to demonstrate the discrepancy between the manual and digital logging techniques. Joints detected over more than 500 meters of core samples were logged. A handheld 3D scanner, hardness test, and pXRF were performed on the joints to measure roughness, joint wall hardness, and a proxy for alteration mineralogy at discontinuity surface, respectively. Ja and Jr were assigned to the joints based on observations. Unsupervised learning techniques were used to classify the joints based on their surface characteristics. Samples from each class were selected for the direct shear test. Finally, unsupervised and supervised learning techniques were applied to predict joints' shear behaviour.
Studying the Effects of Focused Ultrasound-triggered Drug Delivery and Deep Brain Stimulation on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder-type Behaviour
Keywords: Deep Brain Stimulation
Focused Ultrasound
Neuromodulation
preclinical models
PTSD

This thesis investigates the effects of neuromodulation therapies and sex differences in a rodent model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Firstly, it sought to assess whether focused ultrasound-mediated delivery of pentobarbital using nanodroplets to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) would lead to therapeutic benefits on fear- and anxiety-like behaviour. Though we successfully delivered the drug and observed a marked decrease in BLA neuronal activity, no behavioural differences were found between animals receiving pentobarbital-loaded or empty nanodroplets. Next, we sought to establish a preclinical model of PTSD in female rats. Our results showed that females present extinction deficits and prolonged fear, but differences in the phases of the estrous cycle during extinction did not play a role on behavioural responses. Finally, we assessed the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS), on the PTSD-type symptoms. Chronic DBS of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) alleviated anxiety-type behaviour, but not the fear-type responses.
Simulation of Synthesizing Titanium Nanoparticles in a Radio-frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma
Keywords: heat transfer
Nanomaterial
Plasma
Simulation
synthesis
Titanium

Following the rising demand for nanoparticles for plasmonic applications, Induction Plasma Synthesis is a promising technique for the synthesis of nanoparticles or nano-structured coating. A numerical study has been conducted on the evolution of Titanium particles in a radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP). A comprehensive model consisting of three sub-models is developed. A 2-dimensional axisymmetric computational model of a 40 MHz RF-ICP torch has been constructed to investigate the thermo-fluid field of the torch. The mathematical particle tracing model based on the Lagrangian tracking method incorporates the Stefan-Fuchs evaporation mechanism is built. And lastly, to understand the mechanism of nanoparticle formation such as nucleation and particle growth, a growth model under the scheme of the nodal method has been developed. Parametric studies for the influences of coil power, precursor particle size, and material feed rate are performed to find a way of controlling the operating conditions for desirable final particle size. The results of particle temperature, nucleation rate, particle mean diameter, and final size distribution are discussed.
Libyan Higher Education in War times: Youth Participation in Higher Education in Libya
Keywords: civil war
higher education and youth participation
Libya
militias
youth motivation
youth resilience

During the time of war in any country, higher education is one of the most affected sectors. However, despite the great challenges presented by warfare, there are people who become inspired to pursue their educational goals. This research explores the reasons that youth– both men and women – decide to participate in the Libya’s higher education system, despitethe impact of war that began in 2011. This research will contribute to the literature on what prompts motivation and resilience in time of war and conflict. The findings indicate that the students’ hopes, aspirations, plans, and dreams were factors behind youth motivation, meanwhile the factors associated with young people’s resilience came from community support, personal drive, and education as a form of protection. Theoretically, the study contributes to identifying and defining the specific individual attributes and broader social and community characteristics associated with persistence in higher education.
Modelling the Effects of β-arrestin-Mediated Signaling in Cortical D2R Expressing Neurons using CRISPR-Cas9
Keywords: beta-arrestin
cortex
CRISPR-Cas9
D2R
dopamine

Dopamine dysregulation is implicated in psychiatric disorders such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Major Depression. These conditions are managed by antipsychotics, which can exert their effects through G-protein-mediated or β-arrestin-mediated signaling pathways, which may each regulate different behavioral responses. While the principles of biased signaling provide an attractive strategy for developing novel therapeutics for psychiatric conditions, older methods for surveying the contributions of β-arrestin pathway to behavior are limited. Therefore, this study sought to use CRISPR-Cas9 to generate a model for exploring whether loss of β-arrestin in a regional and cell-type-specific manner could affect psychomotor, emotional, cognitive, and social behaviors.
Vehicle Motion Prediction Using Locally Conditioned Trajectory Sets
Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles
Lattice Graph
Machine Learning
Motion Prediction
Self Driving Vehicles
Trajectory Set

Vehicle motion prediction aims to regress a continuous future trajectory from past motion data for all agents in the scene. However, not all future trajectories are viable for each agent. Vehicle trajectories are often limited by factors such as current vehicle dynamics, an agent’s location in the scene, and legal traffic maneuvers. We look to use this idea and frame the vehicle motion prediction problem as a classification problem across a set of trajectories that are ensured to be viable. While other methods typically only consider vehicle dynamics, we look to also explicitly factor in lane geometries and traffic rules as constraints in our trajectory set generation. Although we are unable to achieve similar performance to SOTA, we show that even with minimal training data, this approach allows for generalization to completely new scenes with no retraining and minimal performance loss.
Microplastics Removal in a Dynamic Coagulation-Flocculation-Sedimentation System
Keywords: Coagulation
Flocculation
Microplastics

Most studies examining microplastics (MPs) removal during bench-scale trials have applied sweep flocculation, such that the impact of other coagulation mechanisms remains largely unknown. Furthermore, the use of bench-scale batch systems (e.g., jar testing), wherein the hydrodynamics bear little resemblance to their full-scale counterparts, is ubiquitous in the literature. In this study, MPs removal during jar tests and bench-scale continuous-flow trials was compared. The production of large aluminum hydroxide floc consistent with sweep flocculation was the dominant factor driving MPs removal. Under combined coagulation and sweep flocculation conditions, total MPs removal was lower (11 – 82%) during continuous-flow trials, suggesting that extrapolation of jar test results may overpredict removal in full-scale systems. Strong correlations were observed between MP concentration and turbidity reduction, indicating that it may potentially serve as a surrogate. As well, correlations were observed when comparing both floc size and concentration to the removal of MPs.
Design of Porous Polydimethylsiloxane for Non-fouling Filtration
Keywords: bottom-up
electrospinning
filtration
nanoporous
porous polydimethylsiloxane
templating

Membrane fouling is a severe issue in pressure-driven filtration processes. Fouling influences filtration performance and limits the lifetimes of membranes. To manage the interactions between membrane materials and foulants, designing anti-fouling membranes has drawn much attention. Infused polydimethylsiloxane (iPDMS) is a composition of PDMS that exhibits non-adhesive, non-wetting, and non-fouling properties. We hypothesize that iPDMS can work in narrow spaces inside porous PDMS materials. In this study, methods for generating tunable pore size, porosity, and pore connectivity have been tested for PDMS materials, in particular using green, water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun nanofibers as templates. Porous structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and flow tests. The kinetics of template dissolution was studied via spectrophotometry. The chemical properties of PVA nanofiber-templated PDMS were elucidated via Raman spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. Our PVA nanofiber-templated PDMS membranes could be a candidate for infusion for applications in non-fouling microfiltration.
A Phylogeographic Analysis of the North American Medicinal Leech, Macrobdella decora
Keywords: Hirudinea
Historical Demography
Phylogeography
Population Structure

The data regarding population structure and biogeographic affinities of leeches are scarce despite their important roles in many ecosystems. I begin to address this knowledge gap by performing a phylogeographic analysis of the North American medicinal leech, Macrobdella decora (Say, 1824). A total of 224 M. decora specimens were collected from 35 localities. Using four loci (COI, ND1, 18S and 28S), I constructed a phylogeny which showed a lack of geographic structure among the different populations of M. decora, with individuals collected at a single locality representing monophyletic groups only on six occasions. An AMOVA test did show a significant difference between the genetic variation within populations and between populations (COI: FST = 0.65412, P < 0.00001; ND1: FST = 0.69245, P < 0.00001), which was largely driven by the same six monophyletic groups in the phylogeny. Finally, a Mantel test also showed a weak, but significant correlation between geographic distance and genetic distance (COI: r = 0.209, P = 0.027; ND1: r = 0.1289, P = 0.030). The weak structure suggests that M. decora is panmictic throughout its range, which could be due to a lack of geographic barriers to gene flow or a high capacity for dispersal via their hosts.
Mobility and Joint Motion Control Considerations in the Evaluation of Physical Performance Testing
Keywords: Active Mobility
Joint Motion Control
Performance Testing
Physical Capacity

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the following among varsity athletes: 1) The relationship between deadlift and broad jump performance and joint motion control of the knee and back across a range of tasks of different demands, 2) The relationship between deadlift and broad jump performance and active mobility of the ankle and hip, and 3) The relationship between those who possess active mobility of the ankle and hip and control of the knee and back. Control of the knee and back were related to broad jump and large effect sizes were present between groups that demonstrated control when compared to deadlift. Ankle mobility was related to broad jump and a range of meaningful effect sizes were present in relation to ankle and hip mobility and deadlift. Ankle mobility was related to knee control (p<0.05).
Solving Short-term and Long-term Multi-resource Server Management Problems in the Cloud with Queueing and Combinatorial Models
Keywords: Cloud
Control Theory
Multi-resource
Queueing Theory
Scheduling

In recent years, an increasing number of companies and individuals use cloud services in their daily life. As their workload increases, the cloud providers pay more attention on managing their server capacities to reduce their expenses. In this thesis, we study the short-term capacity planning problem in data centers, and introduce a hybrid framework based on queuing model and combinatorial model. The framework calculates a deterministic server set with the minimum operational cost to satisfy the stochastic workload in a cloud. We embed the short-term framework into another framework that solves the long-term server capacity planning problem with longer planning horizon. The long-term framework calculates the periodic server purchasing plan to satisfy the workload in months or years with the minimum server purchasing cost and operational cost.Our experimental results indicate that both frameworks may calculate a solution to satisfy the workload in a reasonable runtime. Moreover, the solution is closer to the optimal when the workload is more stable.
Understanding Generative Adversarial Networks in the Context of Game Theory and Control Theory
Keywords: Control Theory
Game Theory

Since their introduction in 2014, generative adversarial networks have shown great success in various applications like video synthesis and image generation. Unlike the traditional approaches of distribution learning, GANs view the learning problem as a two-player zero-sum game. In this thesis, we study the optimization of GANs from the perspectives of dynamical systems and game theory.This thesis proposes level k gradient play, a novel first-order that can predict each player’s next action. We evaluate our algorithm on a variety of games and empirically demonstrate that training GANs with our algorithm is much more efficient and effective than traditional methods.Another contribution of this thesis is that we proposed a simplified framework to analyze the solutions of GANs. To the best of our knowledge, we provide the first analytical justification for the observation that well-performing stationary points of GANs need not be local Nash equilibria.
Temporal Multiplexed Fluorescence Imaging Device for Bead-based Immunoassay Detection
Keywords: Bead-based immunoassay
Fluorescence imaging
Multiplexed detection
Point-of-care device
Quantum dots
Sepsis detection

Point-of-care testing devices have received considerable attention due to the growing need. Complex diseases, such as sepsis, put challenges to the current device and require the results of multiple biomarkers. In this work, we demonstratea fluorescence imaging device that can detect multiple biomarkers using temporally multiplexed illumination. Our device is proven to be able to classify three biomarkers and has the potential to achieve higher multiplexing ability. We separately tested three cytokines, IFN-α, IL-5 and IL-6, with different concentrations. The detection range of these three cytokines is 20 pg/ml-2500/pg/ml, 20pg/ml-2500/pg/ml, and 40 pg/ml-5000/pg/ml. The A nine-groups multiplexed test proves that our device can perform classification and quantitative measurements of three cytokines simultaneously. The results demonstrate our device can be used for sepsis diagnosis and potentially other complex diseases where the detection of multiple biomarkers is needed. With further development, we believe our device can contribute to the point-of-care medical service.