Modern web services can see well over a billion requests per day. Data and services at such scale require advanced software and large amounts of computational resources to process requests in reasonable time. Advancements in cloud computing now allow us to acquire additional resources faster than in traditional capacity planning scenarios. Companies can scale systems up and down as required, allowing them to meet the demand of their customers without having to purchase their own expensive hardware. Unfortunately, these, now routine, scaling operations remain a primarily manual task. To solve this problem, we present CRAFTS (Cloud Resource Anticipation For Timing Scaling), a system for automatically identifying application throughput and predictive scaling of cloud computing resources based on historical data. We also present ARTS (Automated Request Trace Simulator), a request based workload generation tool for constructing diverse and realistic request patterns for modern web applications. ARTS allows us to evaluate CRAFTS' algorithms on a wide range of scenarios. In this thesis, we outline the design and implementation of both ARTS and CRAFTS and evaluate the effectiveness of various prediction algorithms applied to real-world request data and artificial workloads generated by ARTS.

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Introduction: Dental implant abutments can be exposed to a variety of oral prophylaxis procedures. Instrumentation of restored dental implants could subject the apical collar of the implant restorative abutment to surface scratching. Scratched surfaces may pose a threat to the integrity of the soft-tissue seal around the apical portion of the abutment which eventually may compromise the alveolar support of the implant. The aim of this study was to objectively measure surface roughness on the apical collar of metal implant abutments induced by probing and scaling instruments. Materials and Methods: 14 standard transmucosal 3 in 1, 4.5 mm diameter abutments made of titanium alloy (BioHorizons, Atlanta, GA) and 4 instruments, UNC-15 metal probe, Periowise plastic probe, McCall SM 17/18 metal scaler and universal plastic scaler were used to conduct the study. 4 abutments were used for non-treated measures and 10 abutments were used for instrumentation measures. All abutments were divided into four sections. Abutments used for instrumentation were treated with one of the four indicated instruments, one instrument per each section. Surface roughness of untreated and treated surfaces was assessed using a contact profilometer. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare surface roughness between untreated and treated surfaces. Results: ANOVA showed significant differences in surface roughness between the treated and untreated surfaces (p< 0.0001). Add hoc analysis using Tukey-Kramer HSD test showed no statistical differences between untreated measures and metal probe measures (p>0.05). On the other hand, statistical differences were noted between untreated measures with plastic probe measures (p= 0.05), plastic scaler measures (p=0.05) and metal scaler measures (p=0.05). The metal scaler measures were higher than plastic probe measures (p=0.05), and plastic scaler measures (p=0.05). Conclusions: Probing around implant abutments with a metal probe seems to have no relevant effect on abutment surfaces. In contrast, instrumentation with scalers (both metal and plastic) and plastic probe may cause adverse surface changes. It is not known if these changes have clinical relevance. / Oral Biology

<p> We look for time-dependent solutions to a general class of supergravity models in an arbitrary amount of dimensions. Previously, many static solutions of these models have been found and studied, of which a subclass of these solutions support membrane-like configurations. While many properties of these solutions are known, their dynamics - and therefore stability - are not. We follow this motivation, and investigate the possibility of time dependent solutions that will also support this membrane configuration. Under various conditions, it turns out this is the case, bringing a better understanding to the stability of these branes. In addition, the form of the time dependence found suggest possible applications of supergravity to cosmological models.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Quantum chemical methods to predict experimental chiroptical properties by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation are useful in the assignment of absolute configurations. Chiroptical properties, being very sensitive to the electronic structure of the system, require highly-accurate methods on the one hand and on the other, need to be able to be computed with limited computational resources. The calculation of the optical rotation in the solution phase is complicated by solvent effects. In order to capture those solvent effects, we present a study that uses conformational averaging and time-dependent density functional theory calculations that incorporate solvent molecules explicitly in the quantum mechanical region. While considering several controllable parameters along which the system's optical rotation varies, we find that the sampling of the dynamical trajectory and the density functional chosen have the largest impact on the value of the rotation. In order to eliminate the arbitrariness of the choice of density functional, we would prefer to use coupled cluster theory, a robust and systematically improvable method. However, the high-order polynomial scaling of coupled cluster theory makes it intractable for numerous large calculations, including the conformational averaging required for optical rotation calculations in solution. We therefore attempt to reduce the scaling of a linear response coupled cluster singles and doubles (LR-CCSD) calculation via a perturbed pair natural orbital (PNO++) local correlation approach which uses an orbital space created using a perturbed density matrix. We find that by creating a "combined PNO++" space, incorporating a set of orbitals from the unperturbed pair natural orbital (PNO) space into the PNO++ space, we can obtain well-behaved convergence behavior for both CCSD correlation energies and linear response properties, including dynamic polarizabilities and optical rotations, for the small systems considered. The PNO++ and combined PNO++ methods require aggressive truncation to keep the computational cost low, due to an expensive two-electron integral transformation at the beginning of the calculation. We apply the methods to larger systems than previously studied and refine them for more aggressive truncation by exploring an alternative form of the perturbed density and a perturbation-including weak pair approximation. / Doctor of Philosophy / Theoretical chemistry attempts to provide connections between the structure of molecules and their observable properties. One such family of observables are chiroptical properties, or the effect of the medium on the light which passes through it. These properties include the scattering, absorption and change in polarization of light. Light being classically an electromagnetic field, chiroptical properties can be derived by treating molecules quantum mechanically and the light classically. The prediction of chiroptical properties on computers using the principles of quantum mechanics is still a growing field, being very sensitive to the method used, and requiring considerations of factors such as conformations and anharmonic corrections. Matching experimental properties is an important step in the creation of a reliable method of predicting properties of systems in order to provide more information than can be obtained through experimental observation. This work begins by addressing the problem of matching experimentally obtained quantities. Our results show that current time-intensive methods still fall short in the matching of experimental data. Thus, we then move on to approximating a more robust but computationally expensive method in order to be able to use a more accurate method on a larger scale than is currently possible. On obtaining positive results for small test systems, we test the new method on larger systems, and explore possible improvements to its accuracy and efficiency.

The usefulness of watershed hydrological process models is considerably increased when they can be extrapolated across spatial and temporal scales. This scale transfer problem, meaning the description and prediction of characteristics and processes at a scale different from the one at which observations and measurements are made, and has become the subject of much current research in hydrology and other areas. Quantitative description of fractal scaling behavior of runoff and stream network morphometry in agricultural watersheds has not been previously reported. In the present study, fractal and multifractal scaling of daily runoff rate in four experimental agricultural watersheds and their associated sub-watersheds (32 in total) were investigated. The time series of daily runoff rate were obtained from the database (comprising about 16,600 station years of rainfall and runoff data for small agricultural watersheds across the U.S.) developed by the Hydrological and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture (HRSL/ARS/USDA). Fractal scaling patterns of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM)-extracted stream network morphometry for these four watersheds were also examined. The morphometry of stream networks of four watersheds were obtained by Geographic Information System (GIS) manipulation of digital elevation data downloaded from the most recent (July 2004) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (NED). Several threshold values of contribution area for stream initiation were used to extract stream networks for each of the four watersheds. The principal measures of fractal scaling determined for the runoff series were the Hurst exponent obtained by rescaled range (R/S) analysis, the fractal dimension estimated by the shifted box-counting method, and the multifractal scaling function parameters (a and C1) of the Universal Multifractal Model (UMM). Corresponding measures for the DEM-extracted stream networks at each threshold value were the fractal dimension estimated using the box-counting technique and the Horton ratios of the network. Daily runoff rate exhibited strong long-term dependence and scale invariance over certain time scales. The same fractal dimensions and Hurst exponents were obtained for the sub-watersheds within each watershed. Runoff exhibited multifractal behavior that was well described by UMM. The multifractal parameters a (quantifies how far the process is from monofractality) and C1 (characterizes the sparseness or inhomogeneity of the mean of the process) were reasonably close to each other for sub-watersheds within a watershed and were generally similar among four watersheds. For the DEM-extracted networks, the morphometric attributes and Horton ratios as well as their fractal dimensions were dependent on the threshold values of contribution area used in the extraction process. The fractal dimensions were almost identical for DEM-extracted stream networks of the four watersheds. The DEM-extracted stream network displayed a single scaling pattern, rather than multifractal behavior. Explanation of the physical significance of fractal characteristics of the stream network in relation to runoff time series would require more data than were available in this study. / Ph. D.

Evaluated were correlated responses to 54-generations of divergent selection for 8-week body weight (BW) and of BW at other ages and reproductive traits. Evaluated first was the influence of scaling on phenotypic responses to selection, phenotypic correlations of means and standard deviations, and unadjusted vs. standardized responses. Measured was BW at 4 (BW4), 8 (BW8), 24 (BW24), and 38 (BW38) weeks of age. Correlations between means and standard deviations were positive and greater in the LWS than HWS. Scaling masked the degree more than the pattern of response and was line specific with the magnitude of response greater in the LWS than HWS. While BW ratios across ages were not influenced by scaling in LWS, they were evident in HWS. Also measured were correlated responses of reproductive traits in selected and relaxed lines. Traits were age at first egg (AFE), body weight at first egg (WFE), their ratio (WAFE), and hen-day normal egg production (HDP). Although sexual maturity was delayed, the effect was more pronounced in the low than high weight lines. Selection for low BW decreased WFE, WAFE and HDP. Selection for high BW resulted in lower HDP, while WFE and WAFE were generally higher. Minimum AFE, WFE and WAFE in relation to sexual maturity were line specific. Opposition between relaxed and artificial selection resulted in a higher reproductive performance and fitness with relaxed than artificial selection. Overall, results demonstrate that correlated responses to long-term divergent selection were masked by scaling and negative correlated reproductive responses. / Master of Science

Magnitude Scaling Factors (MSF) account for the durational effects of strong ground shaking on the inducement of liquefaction within the simplified liquefaction evaluation procedure which is the most commonly used approach for assessing liquefaction potential worldwide. Within the context of the simplified procedure, the spatial variation in the seismic demand imposed on the soil traditionally has been assumed to be solely a function of the spatial variation of the peak amplitude of the ground motions and the characteristics of the soil profile. Conversely, MSF have been solely correlated to earthquake magnitude. This assumption fails to appreciate the inverse correlation between the peak amplitude of ground motions and strong ground motion duration, and thus MSF would seemingly vary spatially. The combination of well-documented liquefaction response during the Darfield and Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquakes, densely-recorded ground motions for the events, and detailed subsurface characterization provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the significance of the spatial variation of MSF on the inducement of liquefaction. Towards this end, MSF were computed at 15 strong motion recording station sites across Christchurch and its surroundings using two established approaches. Trends in the site and spatial variation of the MSF computed for both the Darfield and Christchurch earthquakes are scrutinized and their implications on liquefaction evaluations are discussed. / Master of Science

One of the central problems limiting the application of accurate {em ab initio} methods to large molecular systems is their high computational costs, i.e., their computing and storage requirements exhibit polynomial scaling with the size of the system. For example, the coupled cluster singles and doubles method with the perturbative inclusion of triples: the CCSD(T) model, which is considered to be the ``gold standard'' of quantum chemistry scales as 𝑂(N⁷) in its canonical formulation, where $N$ is a measure of the system size. However, the steep scaling associated with these methods is unphysical since the property of dynamic electron correlation or dispersion (for insulators) is local in nature and decays as R⁻⁶ power of distance. Different reduced-scaling techniques which attempt to exploit this inherent sparsity in the wavefunction have been used in conjunction with the coupled cluster theory to calculate ground-state properties of molecular systems with hundreds of heavy atoms in reasonable computational time. However, efforts towards extension of these methods for describing response properties like polarizabilities, optical rotations, etc., which are related to the derivative of the wavefunction with respect to external electric or/and magnetic fields, have been fairly limited and conventional reduced-scaling algorithms have been shown to yield large and often erratic deviations from the full canonical results. Accurate simulation of response properties like optical rotation is highly desirable as it can help the experimental chemists in understanding the structure-activity relationship of different chiral drug candidates. In this work, we identify the reasons behind the unsatisfactory performance of the pair natural orbital (PNO) based reduced-scaling approach for calculating linear response properties at the coupled cluster level of theory and propose novel modifications, which we refer to as PNO++, (A. Kumar and T. D. Crawford. Perturbed Pair Natural Orbitals for Coupled-Cluster Linear-Response Theory. 2018, {em manuscript in preparation}) that can provide the necessary accuracy at significantly lower computational costs. The motivation behind the PNO++ approach came from our works on the (frozen) virtual natural orbitals (FVNO), which can be seen as a precursor to the concept of PNOs (A. Kumar and T. D. Crawford. Frozen Virtual Natural Orbitals for Coupled-Cluster Linear-Response Theory. {em J. Phys. Chem. A}, 2017, 121(3), pp 708 716) and the improved FVNO++ method (A. Kumar and T. D. Crawford. Perturbed Natural Orbitals for Coupled-Cluster Linear-Response Theory. 2018, {em manuscript in preparation}). The essence of these modified schemes (FVNO++ and PNO++) lie in finding suitable field perturbed one-electron densities to construct ``perturbation aware" virtual spaces which, by construction, are much more compact for describing response properties, making them ideal for applications on large molecular systems. / Ph. D.

Through the exploitation of data-sparsity ---a catch all term for savings gained from a variety of approximations--- it is possible to reduce the computational cost of accurate electronic structure calculations to linear. Meaning, that the total time to solution for the calculation grows at the same rate as the number of particles that are correlated. Multiple techniques for exploiting data-sparsity are discussed, with a focus on those that can be systematically improved by tightening numerical parameters such that as the parameter approaches zero the approximation becomes exact. These techniques are first applied to Hartree-Fock theory and then we attempt to design a linear scaling massively parallel electron correlation strategy based on second order perturbation theory. / Ph. D.