University of California, Irvine

About: University of California, Irvine is a education organization based out in Irvine, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 47031 authors who have published 113602 publications receiving 5521832 citations. The organization is also known as: UC Irvine & UCI.

BlockChain: A Distributed Solution to Automotive Security and Privacy

Abstract: Interconnected smart vehicles offer a range of sophisticated services that benefit the vehicle owners, transport authorities, car manufacturers, and other service providers. This potentially exposes smart vehicles to a range of security and privacy threats such as location tracking or remote hijacking of the vehicle. In this article, we argue that blockchain (BC), a disruptive technology that has found many applications from cryptocurrencies to smart contracts, is a potential solution to these challenges. We propose a BC-based architecture to protect the privacy of users and to increase the security of the vehicular ecosystem. Wireless remote software updates and other emerging services such as dynamic vehicle insurance fees are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed security architecture. We also qualitatively argue the resilience of the architecture against common security attacks.

Hybrid choice models : Progress and challenges

Abstract: We discuss the development of predictive choice models that go beyond the random utility model in its narrowest formulation. Such approaches incorporate several elements of cognitive process that have been identified as important to the choice process, including strong dependence on history and context, perception formation, and latent constraints. A flexible and practical hybrid choice model is presented that integrates many types of discrete choice modeling methods, draws on different types of data, and allows for flexible disturbances and explicit modeling of latent psychological explanatory variables, heterogeneity, and latent segmentation. Both progress and challenges related to the development of the hybrid choice model are presented.

A human-driven decline in global burned area

Abstract: Fire is an essential Earth system process that alters ecosystem and atmospheric composition. Here we assessed long-term fire trends using multiple satellite data sets. We found that global burned area declined by 24.3 ± 8.8% over the past 18 years. The estimated decrease in burned area remained robust after adjusting for precipitation variability and was largest in savannas. Agricultural expansion and intensification were primary drivers of declining fire activity. Fewer and smaller fires reduced aerosol concentrations, modified vegetation structure, and increased the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink. Fire models were unable to reproduce the pattern and magnitude of observed declines, suggesting that they may overestimate fire emissions in future projections. Using economic and demographic variables, we developed a conceptual model for predicting fire in human-dominated landscapes.

Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation Exacerbates Tau Pathology by a Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5-Mediated Pathway in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract: Inflammation is a critical component of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although not an initiator of this disorder, inflammation nonetheless plays a pivotal role as a driving force that can modulate the neuropathology. Here, we characterized the time course of microglia activation in the brains of a transgenic model of AD (3xTg-AD) and discerned its relationship to the plaque and tangle pathology. We find that microglia became activated in a progressive and age-dependent manner, and this activation correlated with the onset of fibrillar amyloidβ-peptide plaque accumulation and tau hyperphosphorylation. To determine whether microglial activation can exacerbate the pathology, we exposed young 3xTg-AD mice to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a known inducer of CNS inflammation. Although amyloid precursor protein processing appeared unaffected, we find that LPS significantly induced tau hyperphosphorylation at specific sites that were mediated by the activation of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) through increased formation of the p25 fragment. We further show that administration of roscovitine, a selective and potent inhibitor of cdk5, markedly blocked the LPS-induced tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Therefore, this study clearly demonstrates that microglial activation exacerbates key neuropathological features such as tangle formation.