Energy non-equipartition in systems of inelastic, rough spheres

We calculate and verify with simulations the ratio between the average translational and rotational energies of systems with rough, inelastic particles, either forced or freely cooling. The ratio shows non-equipartition of energy. In stationary flows, this ratio depends mainly on the particle roughness, but in nonstationary flows, such as freely cooling granular media, it also depends strongly on the normal dissipation. The approach presented here unifies and simplifies different results obtained by more elaborate kinetic theories. We observe that the boundary induced energy flux plays an important role.Comment: 4 pages latex, 4 embedded eps figures, accepted by Phys Rev

Inferencing Abilities of Deaf College Students: Foundations and Implications for Metaphor Comprehension and Theory of Mind

Understanding nonliteral language requires inferencing ability and is an important but complex aspect of social interaction, involving cognitive (e.g., theory of mind, executive function) as well as language skill, areas in which many deaf individuals struggle. This study examined comprehension of metaphor and sarcasm, assessing the contributions of hearing status, inferencing ability, executive function (verbal short-term/working memory capacity), and deaf individuals’ communication skills (spoken versus signed language, cochlear implant use). Deaf and hearing college students completed a multiple-choice metaphor comprehension task and inferencing tasks that included both social-emotional (i.e., theory of mind) and neutral inferences, as well as short-term memory span and working memory tasks. Results indicated the hearing students to have better comprehension of nonliteral language and the ability to make social-emotional inferences, as well as greater memory capacity. Deaf students evidenced strong relationships among inferential comprehension, communication skills, and memory capacity, with substantial proportions of the variance in understanding of metaphor and sarcasm accounted for by these variables. The results of this study enhance understanding of the language and cognitive skills underlying figurative language comprehension and theory of mind and have implications for the social functioning of deaf individuals

Supernova search at intermediate z. I. Spectroscopic analysis

We study 8 supernovae discovered as part of the International Time Programme (ITP) project ``Omega and Lambda from Supernovae and the Physics of Supernova Explosions'' at the European Northern Observatory (ENO). The goal of the project is to increase the sample of intermediate redshift (0.1<z<0.4) SNe Ia for testing properties of SNe Ia along z and for enlarging the sample in the Hubble diagram up to large z.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, to appear in ``1604-2004: Supernovae as Cosmological Lighthouses'', (extended text upon request