\u3cem\u3eThe Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America\u3c/em\u3e, by Robert Pierce Forbes

A review of The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath: Slavery and the Meaning of America, by Robert Pierce Forbe

\u3cem\u3eThe Burden of Dependency: Colonial Themes in Southern Economic Thought\u3c/em\u3e, by Joseph J. Persky

A review of The Burden of Dependency: Colonial Themes in Southern Economic Thought, by Joseph J. Persk

Construction and Characterization of an Extended Helicon Plasma Source

A new helicon source has been developed for plasma processing applications. The source is a modification of the traditional cylindrical helicon source design to rectangular geometry. In order to accomplish this, the antenna used for launching helicon waves is stretched in the direction perpendicular to the static magnetic field lines. This source was coupled to a long rectangular slab chamber which is used for the actual material processing. A static magnetic field of -200 Gauss peak strength, pointing out from the source into the diffusion region, was applied to facilitate helicon wave propagation. 13.56 MHz rf power was used to excite the magnetized plasma along the slab, and a rectangular diffusion chamber was attached to the side of the new source. Langmuir probes were used extensively to characterize the plasma produced in the new chamber. Careful attention was given to rt and other perturbing effects on Langmuir probe traces. Probes were constructed to minimize perturbing effects, and measurements of electron energy distribution functions, plasma and floating potentials, and density are presented for a variety of conditions. The extended source is shown to produce large regions of 1012 cm-3 density plasma in argon under some weak magnetic field conditions. Magnetic induction probes were used to examine the structure of waves in the extended chamber. A 10 x 10 x 50 cm source, with an appropriate antenna is shown to excite waves of 12 cm wavelength for certain magnetic field configurations. The theory of wave propagation along magnetic field lines in rectangular geometry is presented here for the first time. Favorable comparisons between the theoretical model and experimental results indicate that the model may be of use for designing improved extended sources. This work shows that an extended helicon source can be used to generate large areas of uniform plasma in chambers of relatively small volume. Scaling of the slab source in either cylindrical ring- or rectangular-type chambers should have little effect on the physics of the source operation. Application of this technology may include areas outside of microelectronics processing, such as hardening layers for large objects, or plasma source ion implantation. Also included is a brief discussion of the work necessary to improve the applicability of this prototype tool for those plasma processing applications

Cell Proliferation and Viability Inhibition by Resveratrol on Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Antioxidants are well-known for their various health benefits. They are able to protect cells from being damaged by free radicals that are produced by vital biochemical processes. It has long been known that antioxidants are important in our everyday health, but their potential as disease preventers and potential therapeutic agents is a relatively new field of study. Resveratrol, a natural polyphenol and well-known antioxidant, is found in plants, fruits, and products derived from them, like red wine. Resveratrol has been shown to have various properties, including antiaging, anti-aggregation of platelets, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Because of their many health benefits, antioxidants have become a hot topic in cancer research. Oxidative stress, which occurs when there is an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, has been shown to be a potential cause of cancer development. Our research group tested the effects of resveratrol, vitamins C and E, and the green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), on various breast cancer cell lines, though this review will focus on the chemotherapeutic potential of resveratrol. In the experiments, breast cancer MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, BOM 231, and MCF-7-BOM cell lines were treated with various concentrations of resveratrol. A Sulforhodamine B viability assay was used to assess the percent inhibition of resveratrol on each cell line. The experiments showed that resveratrol is an inhibitor of breast cancer cells in a concentration and cell line dependent manner

\u3cem\u3eMasters and Lords: Mid-Nineteenth Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers\u3c/em\u3e, by Shearer Davis Bowman

A review of Masters and Lords: Mid-Nineteenth Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers, by Shearer Davis Bowma