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Articles 1411 - 1440 of 2158

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Securing Distributed Computations : In Search Of Reliable Large-Scale Compute Power And Refreshed Redundancy, Edward P. Kenney Apr 2004

Securing Distributed Computations : In Search Of Reliable Large-Scale Compute Power And Refreshed Redundancy, Edward P. Kenney

Honors Theses

The Internet may be the single largest technological advance or significant societal change in the last century. Not only does it allow access to more information than any human could ever hope to digest, but it produces the potential of having millions of computers combining their computational forces for the betterment of a single cause .. Tl is is the fundamental goal of distributed computing. A distributed system is defined to be a network of machines with some degree of centralized direction. In a distributed computational system each machine will accept computational tasks from a supervisor in a master-slave relationship. …

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Sedimentological And Geochemical Characterization Of East Pond, Belgrade Lakes Watershed, Central Maine, Robin H. Nesbeda Jan 2004

Sedimentological And Geochemical Characterization Of East Pond, Belgrade Lakes Watershed, Central Maine, Robin H. Nesbeda

Honors Theses

The present study focuses on East Pond, the head of the lake-chain system. East Pond is roughly oval in shape with several coves along the margins; it has an average 3 depth of 4.5 m, a maximum depth of 7.3 m, and a total volume of 26.35 x 10 6 m . The lake is surrounded by North temperate hardwood forest and a marshy outlet to the other lakes exists in the northwest comer. East Pond has suffered severe yearly algal blooms during the late summer and into the fall since 1993. This project aims to develop a baseline for …

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Designing And Implementing A User-Focused Web-Based Database System, Rachel Noiseux Jan 2004

Designing And Implementing A User-Focused Web-Based Database System, Rachel Noiseux

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to combine two different fields within computer science to produce a system that would be beneficial to a wide variety of people. The first area, user-centered design, studies how users interact with an interface and the motivation behind the decisions they make when interacting with the interface. The second area, databases, explores different techniques for storing and retrieving large amounts of data.

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Visual Expectations: Using Machine Learning To Identify Patterns In Psychological Data, Skyler Place Jan 2004

Visual Expectations: Using Machine Learning To Identify Patterns In Psychological Data, Skyler Place

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to utilize the tools of machine learning to evaluate the data obtained through experiments in psychology. Advanced pattern finding algorithms are an effective approach to analyzing large sets of data, from any domain of science. Consequently, we have a psychological question and hypothesis, and a separate machine learning technique to assess these claims. The realm of psychology that I focused on is visual cognition, and how an individual's knowledge affects how they see the world. This alteration of visual data is a part of perception -when the brain enhances the data coming in from …

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Estimating The Impact Of State Policy Incentives On Wind Power Development, Kellie K. Phelan Jan 2004

Estimating The Impact Of State Policy Incentives On Wind Power Development, Kellie K. Phelan

Honors Theses

Wind power has recently become a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels for electricity generation because of decreasing costs and the presence of various supportive policy incentives. Pressing environmental issues and concerns about energy security have also prompted interest in wind power as an alternative fuel source. Though less than one percent of the United States electricity supply currently comes from wind power, state policy incentives have the potential to promote the development of the significant wind resources found throughout the United States (American Wind Energy Association 2003). Using a large data set that combines information on installed wind capacity …

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Creating A Video Device Application, Kevin Septor Jan 2004

Creating A Video Device Application, Kevin Septor

Honors Theses

A video device, such as a webcam, has the capability to be used in many ways, including recording video and behaving like a security camera. A TV tuner card can also record video, and in addition be used for watching television. However, the video hardware and device driver the operating system uses to access it are only capable of delivering raw frames of video. A user space application is necessary for exploiting the capabilities of such a device beyond reading sequential frames of video. This research explores the desiderata in a powerful video device application, and introduces a program that …

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Mapping Of Diepoxybutane Damage In The Cytochrome B Domain Of Mitochondrial Dna And The Β-Globin Domain Of Nuclear Chicken Dna Using Quantitative Pcr, Justin Juskewitch Jan 2004

Mapping Of Diepoxybutane Damage In The Cytochrome B Domain Of Mitochondrial Dna And The Β-Globin Domain Of Nuclear Chicken Dna Using Quantitative Pcr, Justin Juskewitch

Honors Theses

Diepoxybutane (DEB), a known industrial carcinogen, reacts with DNA primarily at the N7 position of deoxyguanosine residues and creates interstrand cross-links at the sequence 5'-GNC. Since N7-N7 cross-links cause DNA to fragment upon heating, quantative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) is being used in this experiment to measure the amount of DEB damage (lesion frequency) with three different targets-mitochondrial (unpackaged), open chromatin region, and closed chromatin region. Initial measurements of DEB damage within these three targets were not consistent because the template DNA was not the limiting reagent in the PCR. Follow-up PCR trials using a limiting amount of DNA are …

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Magnetic Susceptibility For The Paleocene-Eocene Boundary: Correlation Among Three Egyptian Sections, Kelli Willson Jan 2004

Magnetic Susceptibility For The Paleocene-Eocene Boundary: Correlation Among Three Egyptian Sections, Kelli Willson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Sol-Gel-Platform Optical Sensors For Oxygen Gas : Sensor Development And Investigation Of Probe Partitioning In Sol-Gel Matrices, Desiree L. Plata Jun 2003

Sol-Gel-Platform Optical Sensors For Oxygen Gas : Sensor Development And Investigation Of Probe Partitioning In Sol-Gel Matrices, Desiree L. Plata

Honors Theses

I have developed gas sensors that respond rapidly and noticeably to changes in oxygen concentration by doping fluorescent complexes into gas-permeable sol-gel materials. Ruthenium (II) 4,7-diphenyl-1,10- phenanthroline, Ru(dpp)32+, responds to variations in ambient oxygen concentrations through marked changes in its fluorescence intensity. I investigated the response of Ru(dpp)32+ to oxygen in solution, in aerogels (sol gels dried under ambient conditions) and in aerogels (sol gels dried using supercritical conditions). Aerogels have particularly high porosity and low density, which allows for rapid diffusion of gases into the material. The aerogel sensor responds reversibly to changes in ambient oxygen concentration within 10 …

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The Use Of Fluorescence To Investigate The Factors Leading To Complex Formation Between Naphthalenes And ├Ƒ-Cyclodextrins, Jamie M. Iannacone Jun 2003

The Use Of Fluorescence To Investigate The Factors Leading To Complex Formation Between Naphthalenes And ├Ƒ-Cyclodextrins, Jamie M. Iannacone

Honors Theses

Fraiji et al. determined a binding constant (K) of 581 = 6 M-1 for the 1:1 complex between 2-acetylnaphthalene (2-AN) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) in H20 using fluorescence quenching experiments (Appl. Spectrosc. 1994, 48, 79). Molecular modeling experiments indicate the possibility of complex stabilization resulting from hydrogen bonds between the C=O group of 2-AN and the -OH groups on the rim of β-CD. To check this possibility, we measured the K of the 2-AN:trimethyl-β-CD (TM-β- CD) complex, where all rim -OH groups are converted to –OCH3. In this case, K decreases to 134 M-1. To show that this is due to …

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Solution Structure Refinement Comparing Reference Model Noe Volumes, Maura Mahar Jun 2003

Solution Structure Refinement Comparing Reference Model Noe Volumes, Maura Mahar

Honors Theses

NMR is a powerful experimental technique which can be used to determine protein structures. Central to this process is conversion of peak volumes in the NOE data sets into distance constraints and then structural refinement against those constraints. In general, each solution structural analysis is initiated de novo. We are interested in the structural analysis of a series of hybrids derived from two parental proteins (rubredoxins from mesophilic bacterium Clostridium pasteurianum (Cp) and the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus (Pf)). Near 1 A resolution X-ray structures of Cp and Pf rubredoxins are available to provide a basis for quantitative comparison of …

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Investigation Of Indicators In Aerogels And Xerogels, Rebecca L. Wolfe Jun 2003

Investigation Of Indicators In Aerogels And Xerogels, Rebecca L. Wolfe

Honors Theses

A sol-gel is a silicon-oxygen matrix that is suitable for the entrapment of chemical species, including biological species, indicators, dyes, and sensors. Aerogels are sol-gels prepared by supercritical extraction, whereas aerogels are allowed to dry under ambient conditions. The resulting materials differ considerably in their physical properties. We are investigating a series of luminescent species for use as probes of the microenvironment in different sol-gel materials. Sol gels containing each probe are prepared as both aerogels and aerogels; aerogels are formed using a novel contained mold process. Spectral properties, including absorption or excitation spectra, emission spectra, time-based fluorescence scans, and …

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Coolest Mud Ever, Kevin Radloff May 2003

Coolest Mud Ever, Kevin Radloff

Honors Theses

MUDs, or Multi-User Dungeons, are text-based online multiplayer roleplaying games. Players type commands that allow them to interact with other players in a virtual world, and also interact with the world itself, for example, picking up objects or casting spells. The goal of The Coolest MUD Ever (CME) was to build the basis of an event driven and completely extensible MUD engine with unheard of levels of environmental realism. Whereas other MUDs are organized as a set of distinct nodes in which gameplay occurs exclusively of each other node, my MUD will blur the lines between nodes. While players still …

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Extending Csp To Disambiguate Linda Predicate Operations, Kyle Burke May 2003

Extending Csp To Disambiguate Linda Predicate Operations, Kyle Burke

Honors Theses

The Tuple Space communication environment is plagued by the apparent ambiguity present in the predicate operations of Linda, the programming extension used to implement Tuple Space. It bas been shown that by using a method of reasoning which describes only sequentialized traces of events, it is unclear what a failed predicate operation actually means. Using an operational semantics model of Tuple Space, an analysis of the predicate operations using a description of events occurring simultaneously has disambiguated the meanings of the failure cases. Here an algebraic model is provided, using the Communicating Sequential Process (CSP) process algebra as a base. …

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Simazine Mineralization In Wetland Soils Of William's Island, Elise Chapman Apr 2003

Simazine Mineralization In Wetland Soils Of William's Island, Elise Chapman

Honors Theses

Wetlands are an interface between terrestrial and aquatic environments. As anthropogenic impacts on the environment increase it puts these sensitive areas at the forefront of change. Farming on William's Island has not occurred since 2001 but before that it was farmed to provide cost-free upkeep of the island. Simazine is a triazine herbicide, the most commonly used group of herbicides in modem agricultural practices. The fields on William's Island were most likely exposed because they were farmed for numerous years prior to 2001. Because of this the wetland that drains the fields, separating them from the Tennessee River, may have …

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Flanking Sequences Modulate Diepoxide Cross-Linking Efficiencies At The 5'-Gnc Sste, Gregory A. Sawyer Jan 2003

Flanking Sequences Modulate Diepoxide Cross-Linking Efficiencies At The 5'-Gnc Sste, Gregory A. Sawyer

Honors Theses

Diepoxybutane, diepoxyoctane, and mechlorethamine are cytotoxic DNA crosslinking agents that vary in their carcinogenic versus chemotherapeutic potentials. Interstrand cross-linking occurs between the N7 positions of deoxyguanosine residues on opposite strands of the DNA duplex. Each synthetic DNA oligomer used in this study contained four 5'-N\GN2CN3 sites (within a 32 base sequence) and we have systematically varied the bases in the N1 and N2 positions to determine the resulting cross-linking efficiencies of each cytotoxic agent. Each duplex was 5' -end labeled and incubated with cross-linking agent. Interstrand cross-links were purified through denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and then subjected to piperidine cleavage. …

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Application Of The Chan-Evans Diaryl Ether Synthesis To The Formation Of Bis(Bibenzyls), Eric Rosenthal Jan 2003

Application Of The Chan-Evans Diaryl Ether Synthesis To The Formation Of Bis(Bibenzyls), Eric Rosenthal

Honors Theses

Alkene (6) was produced in three steps from 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde (8), and 3-bromobenzyl bromide (10). A variety of strategies were employed to synthesize the desired boronic acid (13), but as of this time none have been successful. The synthesis of this boronic acid is necessary to study the feasibility of applying the Chan-Evans copper mediated formation of diaryl ethers to a bis(bibenzyl) synthesis. In seeking to exploit the advantages of the Chan-Evans ether synthesis over the Ullman ether synthesis, we have encountered some of the associated difficulties. The utilization of an arylboronic acid to produce a diaryl ether first requires the …

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Quantitative Analysis Of Diepoxybutane Damage Within The Chicken Β-Globin Domain, André M. Pilon Jan 2003

Quantitative Analysis Of Diepoxybutane Damage Within The Chicken Β-Globin Domain, André M. Pilon

Honors Theses

In industrial polymer and synthetic rubber production facilities, workers are exposed to 1,3-butadiene. This compound is converted in vivo to 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB) and has been linked to increased incidences of cancer in these individuals. Carcinogenesis has been attributed to formation of DEB induced DNA interstrand cross-links. Previous studies have demonstrated that DEB cross-links deoxyguanosine residues within 5'-GNC sequences in synthetic DNA, in restriction fragments, and in defined sequence nucleosomes. The current study utilized the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to examine DEB damage frequencies within nuclear genes, found within "open" regions of chromatin, as compared to regions of unexpressed sequence that …

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Sedimentological And Plant Taphonomic Evaluation Of The Early Middle Devonian Trout Valley Formation, Jonathan Allen Jan 2003

Sedimentological And Plant Taphonomic Evaluation Of The Early Middle Devonian Trout Valley Formation, Jonathan Allen

Honors Theses

The Trout Valley Formation of Emsian-Eifelian age, outcropped in Baxter State Park, Maine, consists offluvial and coastal deposits preserving early land plants. Massive, crudely bedded conglomerate represents deposits of proximal braided channels on an alluvial fan complex. Lithic sandstone bodies in channel-form geometries represent deposits of river channels draining the Acadian highlands whereas associated siltstones represent overbank deposits, intertidal flats, and tidal channels. Localized lenticular quartz arenites represent nearshore shelf bar deposits that were storm influenced. The majority of plant assemblages preserved mainly in siltstone lithologies are allochthonous and parautochthonous, with only one autochthonous assemblage identified in the sequence. Plant …

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Double Stranded Dna-Binding Studies Of Potential Rhodium(Ll) Antitumor Complexes, Amity Elizabeth Burr Jan 2003

Double Stranded Dna-Binding Studies Of Potential Rhodium(Ll) Antitumor Complexes, Amity Elizabeth Burr

Honors Theses

In 1952, Dwyer and coworkers began testing a series of metal complexes for potential inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in animals.[l] The complexes tested were unsuitable for such studies due to their high toxicity. Therefore, no further work was done on the project. However, in 1965, Rosenberg and coworkers revisited the possibility of potential metal-based drugs. Serendipitously, they discovered that cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(lI) (cisplatin) inhibits cell division in E. coli.[2] Further studies of this and other platinum compounds revealed inhibition of tumor cell lines sarcoma 180 and leukemia LI2l0 in mice.[l] Cisplatin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1970 …

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Synthesis Of Montiporynes A And B, Traci Jenelle Speed Jan 2003

Synthesis Of Montiporynes A And B, Traci Jenelle Speed

Honors Theses

This thesis reports the first complete synthesis of monriporynes A and B. isomeric diacetylenes that bear α, β unsaturated ketone functionalities. Recently isolated from the stony coral Montipora sp. these compounds are reported to possess in vitro cytotoxic activity against several human solid tumor cells. We have synthesized both isomers in three simple steps. In the first step, l-iodononyne was prepared by reacting 1-nonyne with N-iodosuccinimide and a catalytic amount of silver nitrate. This iodoalkyne was then coupled with propargyl alcohol using copper iodide as the catalyst to give 2,4dodecadiynyl alcohol. Finally, the diacetylenic alcohol was subjected to the Swern …

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Coloring Graphs With Crossings, Wei Zhao Jan 2003

Coloring Graphs With Crossings, Wei Zhao

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Modification Of An Injection Molding Machine To Mold Micro Parts With A Liga Mold, Emil John Geiger Oct 2002

Modification Of An Injection Molding Machine To Mold Micro Parts With A Liga Mold, Emil John Geiger

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Weinreb Amides : Novel Titanium Enolate Reagents, Andrew J. Leyhane Jun 2002

Weinreb Amides : Novel Titanium Enolate Reagents, Andrew J. Leyhane

Honors Theses

The amides of N-methoxy-N-methylamine or "Weinreb amide" have earned an important role in synthetic chemistry as both a protective group and as synthetic intermediates. We have discovered that the Weinreb amide of acetic acid, N-methoxy-N-methylacetamide adds to aldehydes to afford classic aldol products in good to excellent yields. The scope of this novel aldol reaction will be discussed.

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Inclusion Chemistry Of Neutral Nonlinear Optical Dyes Within Organically Modified Silicates, Ian Saratovsky Jun 2002

Inclusion Chemistry Of Neutral Nonlinear Optical Dyes Within Organically Modified Silicates, Ian Saratovsky

Honors Theses

The field of photonics involves the use of light to acquire, store, process, and transmit information. Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are crucial for success in the advancement of photonic devices. Laponite and hectorite host assemblies have been shown previously by our group to induce I -aggregation of nonlinear optical (NLO) dyes and offer facile routes to film fabrication. Head-to-tail alignment (J-aggregation) of the NLO chromophores is a required condition for photonic applications. In this study, tetrabutylammonium, triethylhexylammonium, trimethyldodecylammonium, and trimetylcetylarunonium surfactants were utilized to render the smectic intergallery region organophilic thus facilitating chromophore intercalation and an increased J-aggregated dye fraction. …

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The Use Of Substituted Cyclodextrins In Capillary Electrophoresis For The Separation And Identification Of Methorphan Enantiomers, Colleen Strait Jun 2002

The Use Of Substituted Cyclodextrins In Capillary Electrophoresis For The Separation And Identification Of Methorphan Enantiomers, Colleen Strait

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to separate the enantiomers levo and dextromethorphan using capillary electrophoresis (CE). Levomethorphan is a controlled substance, and dextromethorphan is an active ingredient in many cough syrups. Methylated-β-cyclodextrins (CDs) are used as additives because the CDs have chiral centers, allowing them to bind differently to the two enantiomers and thereby changing the enantiomer migration times in CE. Dimethyl- β-CD did not separate the levo and dextromethorphans; however the trimethyl-β-CD was successful at producing baseline separation with migration times of roughly 6 minutes. We are optimizing it by changing variables such as type of buffer, buffer …

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The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski Jun 2002

The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski

Honors Theses

The purpose of the first project, performed in collaboration with Professor Frank Bright of SUNY at Buffalo, was to optimize the conditions and variables for a Cartesian Technologies Pinprinter to print reproducible spots of sol-gels doped with Ruthenium Diphenylphenathrene (Ru(dpp)32+), an oxygen-sensing complex, on microscope slides. We attempted to optimize these variables by l) the alteration of the printing speed of the sol-gel microarrays, 2) variation of the drying temperature of the gels after they had been printed, 3) controlling the reaction rate of the sol-gel, and 4) various methods of slide pre-treatment. We found that a print speed of …

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The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski Jun 2002

The Optimization Of Sol-Gels As Sensing Arrays And The Testing Of Sol-Gel Precursors Through The Use Of Fluorescence Measurements Of Eosin-Y, Rachel M. Bukowski

Honors Theses

The purpose of the first project, performed in collaboration with Professor Frank Bright of SUNY at Buffalo, was to optimize the conditions and variables for a Cartesian Technologies Pinprinter to print reproducible spots of sol-gels doped with Ruthenium Diphenylphenathrene (Ru(dpp)32+), an oxygen-sensing complex, on microscope slides. We attempted to optimize these variables by l) the alteration of the printing speed of the sol-gel microarrays, 2) variation of the drying temperature of the gels after they had been printed, 3) controlling the reaction rate of the sol-gel, and 4) various methods of slide pre-treatment. We found that a print speed of …

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A Stereoselective Multi-Component Synthesis Of Alpha-Oxy-Beta-Substituted-Beta-Amino Esters, Avrum L. Joffe Jun 2002

A Stereoselective Multi-Component Synthesis Of Alpha-Oxy-Beta-Substituted-Beta-Amino Esters, Avrum L. Joffe

Honors Theses

Previous work has shown that chlorotitanium enolates of methylmethoxy acetate add to aryl aldimines in a stereoselective fashion. Aryl aldimines are non-enolizable, which contributes to their ability to add to the enolates. Previous attempts to add the enolates to enolizable alkyl aldimines were unsuccessful. By using a multi-component process in which the aldimine is synthesized in-situ, we have expanded the scope of this chemistry to the enolizable alkyl aldimines. Furthermore, the multi-component process has proven to be stereoselective for the anti-adduct.

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Deformational Features In The Chattanooga Shale, Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Dewayne Adarial Ponds Jun 2002

Deformational Features In The Chattanooga Shale, Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Dewayne Adarial Ponds

Honors Theses

Several exposures of deformed middle Paleozoic rocks in the westernmost Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, near Chattanooga, TN, reveal a variety of structures. These include centimeter-scale ellipsoidal to lensshaped masses of sandstone in the Mississippian to Devonian Chattanooga Shale. Fissility in the carbonaceous shale is intensified adjacent to these lenses and conforms to their biconvex shapes. Slickensides on rinds of highly polished shale trend northwest. The walnut- to fist-size masses are composed of fine- to medium-grained ferruginous quartz sandstone. Thin-section study reveals that the quartz grains retain detrital characteristics, but that many are broken and displaced; cataclastic deformation is particularly …

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