Experimental Technology Prototype At Microsoft

In our project, sponsored by Microsoft, we built a proof of concept application to demonstrate the capabilities of an emerging technology when compared with a parallel implementation currently being developed using a similar technology. With technical specifications and interface mockups, we created a UI infrastructure and components such as filtered and searchable tables, dialog boxes, context menus, and navigation to allow users to manage server entities. The application makes minimal use of open source libraries for platform compatibility, but in general runs solely on a custom framework used primarily for UI layout management and for standardizing communication and XML parsing between the server and client systems

A genome-wide association study of aging

AbstractHuman longevity and healthy aging show moderate heritability (20%–50%). We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from 9 studies from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium for 2 outcomes: (1) all-cause mortality, and (2) survival free of major disease or death. No single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was a genome-wide significant predictor of either outcome (p < 5 × 10−8). We found 14 independent SNPs that predicted risk of death, and 8 SNPs that predicted event-free survival (p < 10−5). These SNPs are in or near genes that are highly expressed in the brain (HECW2, HIP1, BIN2, GRIA1), genes involved in neural development and function (KCNQ4, LMO4, GRIA1, NETO1) and autophagy (ATG4C), and genes that are associated with risk of various diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In addition to considerable overlap between the traits, pathway and network analysis corroborated these findings. These findings indicate that variation in genes involved in neurological processes may be an important factor in regulating aging free of major disease and achieving longevity

Experimental Technology Prototype At Microsoft

In our project, sponsored by Microsoft, we built a proof of concept application to demonstrate the capabilities of an emerging technology when compared with a parallel implementation currently being developed using a similar technology. With technical specifications and interface mockups, we created a UI infrastructure and components such as filtered and searchable tables, dialog boxes, context menus, and navigation to allow users to manage server entities. The application makes minimal use of open source libraries for platform compatibility, but in general runs solely on a custom framework used primarily for UI layout management and for standardizing communication and XML parsing between the server and client systems

Applying Game UX Techniques to Network Security Tools

This project describes the design and development of a game-style interface for Core Security’s Core Impact Pro software. We identified ways to improve the current interface with commonly used techniques from games and developed a prototype in which we implemented these techniques to make Core Impact Pro easier to use and understand. A user study with the prototype showed that users rated our interface better than the current interface and within twenty minutes of use were on average able to answer more questions regarding the state of the network accurately

Game Industry Research: How to get a job in the game industry.

This paper details the information attained about the needs of the game industry local to Worcester, MA. It is intended to provide insight into the hiring process and details as to how to become a part of this fledgling industry

Subclinical Thyroid Dysfunction and Frailty Among Older Men

CONTEXT Both subclinical thyroid dysfunction and frailty are common among older individuals, but data on the relationship between these 2 conditions are conflicting. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the cross-sectional and prospective associations between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and frailty and the 5 frailty subdomains (sarcopenia, weakness, slowness, exhaustion, and low activity). SETTING AND DESIGN The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study is a prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS Men older than 65 years (n = 1455) were classified into 3 groups of thyroid status: subclinical hyperthyroidism (n = 26, 1.8%), subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 102, 7.0%), and euthyroidism (n = 1327, 91.2%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Frailty was defined using a slightly modified Cardiovascular Health Study Index: men with 3 or more criteria were considered frail, men with 1 to 2 criteria were considered intermediately frail, and men with no criteria were considered robust. We assessed the cross-sectional relationship between baseline thyroid function and the 3 categories of frailty status (robust/intermediate/frail) as well as the prospective association between baseline thyroid function and subsequent frailty status and mortality after a 5-year follow-up. RESULTS At baseline, compared with euthyroid participants, men with subclinical hyperthyroidism had an increased likelihood of greater frailty status (adjusted odds ratio, 2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-5.34), particularly among men aged <74 years at baseline (odds ratio for frailty, 3.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-10.88). After 5 years of follow-up, baseline subclinical hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were not consistently associated with overall frailty status or frailty components. CONCLUSION Among community-dwelling older men, subclinical hyperthyroidism, but not subclinical hypothyroidism, is associated with increased odds of prevalent but not incident frailty