The legacies of King Philip\u27s War in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

When King Philip\u27s War erupted in the summer of 1675, the New England colonies entered a quarter-century of almost constant trial and tension. Colonial leaders consistently interpreted each successive crisis and the lingering legacies as warnings from God against backsliding and sin. Interpreting the causes of the colonies\u27 troubles was just the beginning of the struggle, however; understanding, solving, and learning from the trials of the period represented the ongoing challenge for the future of the New England mission.;The most obvious victims of King Philip\u27s War were the natives of the colony. Even the Praying Indians who lived under English jurisdiction became targets of the colonists\u27 anxiety and prejudice. The persistence of any bands in the region, friendly, or hostile, provided a source of continuing tension for the colonists.;Economically, demographically, even politically, the effects of King Philip\u27s War lingered throughout the ensuing decades. The colony\u27s effort to recoup the costs of the war led to a persistent struggle as citizens and towns attempted to avoid the increased tax rates. The need to secure the frontier communities either threatened or actually abandoned during the conflict represented an ongoing campaign in the region. In the area of politics, the war made the colonists more sensitive and more assertive, and this new spirit appeared in town politics as well as in the constitutional upheaval in Boston.;The uneasiness resulting from the accumulated tensions led to a period of self-examination among New Englanders. Puritan clergy exhorted their followers to reform in order to ward off the forces of evil which threatened the mission. The jeremiads of the period bemoaned the spiritual decline in the region, but in the end, their message remained optimistic. The errand would continue, but with a new sense of secular interest incorporated into the New England mentality. Although King Philip\u27s War was not the sole, direct cause of all the problems that plagued Massachusetts during the troubled decades of the late seventeenth century, it was the first in a series of crises and the event which set the tone for the whole period

Attempted density blowup in a freely cooling dilute granular gas: hydrodynamics versus molecular dynamics

It has been recently shown (Fouxon et al. 2007) that, in the framework of ideal granular hydrodynamics (IGHD), an initially smooth hydrodynamic flow of a granular gas can produce an infinite gas density in a finite time. Exact solutions that exhibit this property have been derived. Close to the singularity, the granular gas pressure is finite and almost constant. This work reports molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a freely cooling gas of nearly elastically colliding hard disks, aimed at identifying the "attempted" density blowup regime. The initial conditions of the simulated flow mimic those of one particular solution of the IGHD equations that exhibits the density blowup. We measure the hydrodynamic fields in the MD simulations and compare them with predictions from the ideal theory. We find a remarkable quantitative agreement between the two over an extended time interval, proving the existence of the attempted blowup regime. As the attempted singularity is approached, the hydrodynamic fields, as observed in the MD simulations, deviate from the predictions of the ideal solution. To investigate the mechanism of breakdown of the ideal theory near the singularity, we extend the hydrodynamic theory by accounting separately for the gradient-dependent transport and for finite density corrections.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication on Physical Review

Raisins and additional walking have distinct effects on plasma lipids and inflammatory cytokines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Raisins are a significant source of dietary fiber and polyphenols, which may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk by affecting lipoprotein metabolism and inflammation. Walking represents a low intensity exercise intervention that may also reduce CVD risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of consuming raisins, increasing steps walked, or a combination of these interventions on blood pressure, plasma lipids, glucose, insulin and inflammatory cytokines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-four men and postmenopausal women were matched for weight and gender and randomly assigned to consume 1 cup raisins/d (RAISIN), increase the amount of steps walked/d (WALK) or a combination of both interventions (RAISINS + WALK). The subjects completed a 2 wk run-in period, followed by a 6 wk intervention. Systolic blood pressure was reduced for all subjects (P = 0.008). Plasma total cholesterol was decreased by 9.4% for all subjects (P < 0.005), which was explained by a 13.7% reduction in plasma LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (P < 0.001). Plasma triglycerides (TG) concentrations were decreased by 19.5% for WALK (P < 0.05 for group effect). Plasma TNF-α was decreased from 3.5 ng/L to 2.1 ng/L for RAISIN (P < 0.025 for time and group × time effect). All subjects had a reduction in plasma sICAM-1 (P < 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This research shows that simple lifestyle modifications such as adding raisins to the diet or increasing steps walked have distinct beneficial effects on CVD risk.</p

Directly Imaged L-T Transition Exoplanets in the Mid-Infrared

Gas-giant planets emit a large fraction of their light in the mid-infrared ($\gtrsim$3$\mu$m), where photometry and spectroscopy are critical to our understanding of the bulk properties of extrasolar planets. Of particular importance are the L and M-band atmospheric windows (3-5$\mu$m), which are the longest wavelengths currently accessible to ground-based, high-contrast imagers. We present binocular LBT AO images of the HR 8799 planetary system in six narrow-band filters from 3-4$\mu$m, and a Magellan AO image of the 2M1207 planetary system in a broader 3.3$\mu$m band. These systems encompass the five known exoplanets with luminosities consistent with L$\rightarrow$T transition brown dwarfs. Our results show that the exoplanets are brighter and have shallower spectral slopes than equivalent temperature brown dwarfs in a wavelength range that contains the methane fundamental absorption feature (spanned by the narrowband filters and encompassed by the broader 3.3$\mu$m filter). For 2M1207 b, we find that thick clouds and non-equilibrium chemistry caused by vertical mixing can explain the object's appearance. For the HR 8799 planets, we present new models that suggest the atmospheres must have patchy clouds, along with non-equilibrium chemistry. Together, the presence of a heterogeneous surface and vertical mixing presents a picture of dynamic planetary atmospheres in which both horizontal and vertical motions influence the chemical and condensate profiles.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Survival-Time Distribution for Inelastic Collapse

In a recent publication [PRL {\bf 81}, 1142 (1998)] it was argued that a randomly forced particle which collides inelastically with a boundary can undergo inelastic collapse and come to rest in a finite time. Here we discuss the survival probability for the inelastic collapse transition. It is found that the collapse-time distribution behaves asymptotically as a power-law in time, and that the exponent governing this decay is non-universal. An approximate calculation of the collapse-time exponent confirms this behaviour and shows how inelastic collapse can be viewed as a generalised persistence phenomenon.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe