Electromagnetic Wave Theory and Applications

Contains table of content for Section 3, reports on ten research projects and a list of publications.U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-92-J-4098U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Contract 94-G-007U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Contract 97-G-031California Institute of Technology Contract JPL 960408National Aeronautics and Space Administration Contract JPL 958461U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-92-J-1616National Science Foundation Grant ECS 96-15799U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-97-1-0172Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAH04-95-1-0038Mitsubishi Corporatio

Finite-difference time-domain modeling of oblique indidence scattering from periodic surfaces

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-201).by Yin-Chun Andrew Kao.M.Eng

Proteome of normal human perilymph and perilymph from people with disabling vertigo.

The vast majority of hearing loss, the most common sensory impairment, and vertigo, which commonly causes falls, both reflect underlying dysfunction of inner ear cells. Perilymph sampling can thus provide molecular cues to hearing and balance disorders. While such "liquid biopsy" of the inner ear is not yet in routine clinical practice, previous studies have uncovered alterations in perilymph in patients with certain types of hearing loss. However, the proteome of perilymph from patients with intact hearing has been unknown. Furthermore, no complete characterization of perilymph from patients with vestibular dysfunction has been reported. Here, using liquid-chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, we analyzed samples of normal perilymph collected from three patients with skull base meningiomas and intact hearing. We identified 228 proteins that were common across the samples, establishing a greatly expanded proteome of the previously inferred normal human perilymph. Further comparison to perilymph obtained from three patients with vestibular dysfunction with drop attacks due to Meniere's disease showed 38 proteins with significantly differential abundance. The abundance of four protein candidates with previously unknown roles in inner ear biology was validated in murine cochleae by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization: AACT, HGFAC, EFEMP1, and TGFBI. Together, these results motivate future work in characterizing the normal human perilymph and identifying biomarkers of inner ear disease

Search for pair production of first and second generation leptoquarks in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV

A search for pair production of first and second generation leptoquarks is performed in final states containing either two charged leptons and two jets, or one charged lepton, one neutrino and two jets, using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$, were recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. First-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses less than 1010 (850) GeV are excluded for β=1.0 (0.5), where β is the branching fraction of a leptoquark decaying to a charged lepton and a quark. Similarly, second-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses less than 1080 (760) GeV are excluded for β=1.0 (0.5). Mass limits are also set for vector leptoquark production scenarios with anomalous vector couplings, and for R-parity violating supersymmetric scenarios of top squark pair production resulting in similar final-state signatures. These are the most stringent limits placed on the masses of vector leptoquarks and RPV top squarks to date

Search for W' decaying to tau lepton and neutrino in proton-proton collisions at (s)=\sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

The first search for a heavy charged vector boson in the final state with a tau lepton and a neutrino is reported, using 19.7 fb −1 of LHC data at s=8 TeV . A signal would appear as an excess of events with high transverse mass, where the standard model background is low. No excess is observed. Limits are set on a model in which the W′ decays preferentially to fermions of the third generation. These results substantially extend previous constraints on this model. Masses below 2.0 to 2.7 TeV are excluded, depending on the model parameters. In addition, the existence of a W′ boson with universal fermion couplings is excluded at 95% confidence level, for W′ masses below 2.7 TeV. For further reinterpretation a model-independent limit on potential signals for various transverse mass thresholds is also presented

Addressing Liability of Automated Systems in Air Traffic Management

In the current operational scenario of Air Traffic Management (ATM), liability is mainly allocated to the operators who are responsible for air traffic control and air navigation. However, this scenario will rapidly change: the adoption of new technologies with high automation levels is likely to raise new legal issues related to liability. The paper presents an outline of the issues of liability in relation to automation, focusing on the concept of autonomy and on the delegation of tasks to automatic systems or to hybrid human-machine systems. Finally a proposal to handle such issues is presented, based on a model of ATM as a socio-technical system, where the allocation of liabilities may be seen as a governance mechanism enabling the enhancement of the functioning of ATM

Search for third-generation scalar leptoquarks in the tτ channel in proton-proton collisions at √s =8 TeV

A search for pair production of third-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to top quark and τ lepton pairs is presented using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{−1}$. The search is performed using events that contain an electron or a muon, a hadronically decaying τ lepton, and two or more jets. The observations are found to be consistent with the standard model predictions. Assuming that all leptoquarks decay to a top quark and a τ lepton, the existence of pair produced, charge −1/3, third-generation leptoquarks up to a mass of 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. This result constitutes the first direct limit for leptoquarks decaying into a top quark and a τ lepton, and may also be applied directly to the pair production of bottom squarks decaying predominantly via the R-parity violating coupling λ$_{333}^{′}$