strategy

An Improved Boosting to Amplify Signal with Isobaric Labeling (iBASIL) Strategy for Precise Quantitative Single-cell Proteomics [Research]

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics has great potential for overcoming the limitations of antibody-based immunoassays for antibody-independent, comprehensive, and quantitative proteomic analysis of single cells. Indeed, recent advances in nanoscale sample preparation have enabled effective processing of single cells. In particular, the concept of using boosting/carrier channels in isobaric labeling to increase the sensitivity in MS detection has also been increasingly used for quantitative proteomic analysis of small-sized samples including single cells. However, the full potential of such boosting/carrier approaches has not been significantly explored, nor has the resulting quantitation quality been carefully evaluated. Herein, we have further evaluated and optimized our recent boosting to amplify signal with isobaric labeling (BASIL) approach, originally developed for quantifying phosphorylation in small number of cells, for highly effective analysis of proteins in single cells. This improved BASIL (iBASIL) approach enables reliable quantitative single-cell proteomics analysis with greater proteome coverage by carefully controlling the boosting-to-sample ratio (e.g. in general <100x) and optimizing MS automatic gain control (AGC) and ion injection time settings in MS/MS analysis (e.g. 5E5 and 300 ms, respectively, which is significantly higher than that used in typical bulk analysis). By coupling with a nanodroplet-based single cell preparation (nanoPOTS) platform, iBASIL enabled identification of ~2500 proteins and precise quantification of ~1500 proteins in the analysis of 104 FACS-isolated single cells, with the resulting protein profiles robustly clustering the cells from three different acute myeloid leukemia cell lines. This study highlights the importance of carefully evaluating and optimizing the boosting ratios and MS data acquisition conditions for achieving robust, comprehensive proteomic analysis of single cells.




strategy

Australia's Cyber Security Strategy: weaknesses, yes, but we're improving

The online world changes so fast it was always going to be tough to design a four-year strategy.




strategy

Economic containment as a strategy of Great Power competition

6 November 2019 , Volume 95, Number 6

Dong Jung Kim

Economic containment has garnered repeated attention in the discourse about the United States' response to China. Yet, the attributes of economic containment as a distinct strategy of Great Power competition remain unclear. Moreover, the conditions under which a leading power can employ economic containment against a challenging power remain theoretically unelaborated. This article first suggests that economic containment refers to the use of economic policies to weaken the targeted state's material capacity to start military aggression, rather than to influence the competitor's behaviour over a specific issue. Then, this article suggests that economic containment becomes a viable option when the leading power has the ability to inflict more losses on the challenging power through economic restrictions, and this ability is largely determined by the availability of alternative economic partners. When the leading power cannot effectively inflict more losses on the challenging power due to the presence of alternative economic partners, it is better off avoiding economic containment. The author substantiates these arguments through case-studies of the United States' responses to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The article concludes by examining the nature of the United States' recent economic restrictions against China.




strategy

Episode 54 - The Internet of Insecure Robots (IoIR) MWC, the government's digital strategy and pesky hackable robots

The gang muck in to discuss the hottest tech topics of the week (as is tradition). Deputy Editor of Macworld UK David Price asks Jim Martin what was hot at MWC, where phones are birthed or something. Then Techworld Online Editor Thomas MacAuley chats about the government's digital strategy. First question: does it have one? Finally Tamlin Magee, Computerworld UK's Online Editor explains how to hack a robot and why people will almost certainly use this for EVIL. Thanks for listening.  


See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.




strategy

Multiple hypothesis testing in proteomics: A strategy for experimental work [Invited]

In quantitative proteomics work, the differences in expression of many separate proteins are routinely examined to test for significant differences between treatments. This leads to the multiple hypothesis testing problem: when many separate tests are performed many will be significant by chance and be false positive results. Statistical methods such as the false discovery rate (FDR) method that deal with this problem have been disseminated for more than one decade. However a survey of proteomics journals shows that such tests are not widely implemented in one commonly used technique, quantitative proteomics using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). We outline a selection of multiple hypothesis testing methods, including some that are well known and some lesser known, and present a simple strategy for their use by the experimental scientist in quantitative proteomics work generally. The strategy focuses on the desirability of simultaneous use of several different methods, the choice and emphasis dependent on research priorities and the results in hand. This approach is demonstrated using case scenarios with experimental and simulated model data.




strategy

The Changing Nature of Russia’s Military Strategy and Its Tactical Application

Invitation Only Research Event

12 November 2019 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Oscar Jonsson, Director, Stockholm Free World Forum (Frivärld)
Mathieu Boulègue, Research Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
Chair: ​Alice Billon-Galland, Research Associate, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Russia’s military strategy is increasingly blurring the boundaries between war and peace. As the nature of warfare changes, the Kremlin is adapting its strategies to pursue conflict, especially through non-military means - below the threshold of armed violence. 

Russian military tactics are often mistaken for strategy in the West. Oscar Jonson, author of The Russian Understanding of War, will talk through this debate and explore how the Russian leadership now understands military strategy in the context of modern warfare. Mathieu Boulègue will address the more operational aspects of contemporary warfare for Russia, notably grey zone operations. 

Department/project

Anna Morgan

Administrator, Ukraine Forum
+44 (0)20 7389 3274




strategy

Could Zelenskyy’s Strategy for Donbas Lead Ukraine Into a Kremlin Trap?

14 February 2020

Kataryna Wolczuk

Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme

Hanna Shelest

Member of the Board, Foreign Policy Council 'Ukrainian Prism'
In pursuit of peace in the war-torn region, the Ukrainian president’s short-term, tactical approach is vulnerable in the face of Russia’s long-term strategy.

2020-02-14-Zelenskyy.jpg

Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a ceremony welcoming Ukrainians who were freed by pro-Russian rebels during a prisoner exchange. Photo: Getty Images.

One of the key messages at the heart of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential campaign in 2019 was a very simple one: peace in Donbas, the war-torn region of Ukraine where Russian-supported separatists continue to fight a war against the Kyiv government. Zelenskyy’s message was based on the assumption that if a ceasefire could be respected, and all Ukrainian prisoners-of-war could return home, then peace would have been achieved.

Nine months after Zelenskyy’s inauguration and two months after his first Normandy Four summit (which brings together Germany and France with Ukraine and Russia to discuss Donbas), it appears more likely that this approach will lead Ukraine into a Russian trap.

Zelenskyy’s very immediate objectives and the tactics used to achieve them contrast with those of the previous president, Petro Poroshenko. Zelenskyy has pointedly avoided naming Russia as an aggressor and has focused on humanitarian issues and seeking compromise wherever possible, including in legal cases that Russia has already lost in international courts.

In contrast, President Poroshenko prioritised the security agenda as a precondition for any political settlement, encapsulated in the notion of ‘no elections without security guarantees’. This focused on regaining control of the border and the demilitarization of the separatist-controlled territories. At the same time, Poroshenko sought remedial action for Russian aggression through international courts. 

Kyiv is testing the Kremlin’s real intentions with a series of small steps without clearly communicating its overarching objectives. This has triggered considerable social disquiet, manifested by demonstrations in Kyiv and other cities as part of the ’No capitulation’ campaign. This wave of criticism forced Zelenskyy’s team to name certain red lines, which he promised he would not cross (‘we don’t trade territories and people’) in pursuit of conflict resolution.

Other key issues, such as Ukraine’s relations with the EU, future NATO membership, language issues and any possible ‘special status’ for Donbas, have been left undefined.

Two months since the Normandy summit, the number of casualties has not declined. It is increasingly difficult for Zelenskyy to argue that disengagement by Ukraine’s army from the contact line in three locations, which was a precondition for the December Normandy Four meeting, is a way to achieve peace.

The separatists continue to significantly impede the OSCE’s special monitoring mission, a full ceasefire is not being observed and there are numerous reports of heavy weapons movements closer to the contact line in the areas outside Kyiv’s control. These issues are particularly problematic as control over the border with Russia is essential for the demilitarization of the ‘people’s republics’, which is a prerequisite for the safe reintegration of these areas.

Conducting local elections in autumn 2020 is a top priority for the new team, but it is clear that even if Ukraine regains control of its border, the presence of Russian military personnel and weaponry in Donbas threatens the prospect of free and fair elections (which themselves raise the further issue of how to ensure the integrity of the votes).

Russia’s strategy

So despite Zelenskyy’s pacifist rhetoric, hopes and ambitions, his plans are far from being realized or, in fact, realizable. This is because these plans are at odds with Russia’s strategic objective, which is for Donbas to be conferred a status whereby it is de jure within Ukraine but de facto under Russian control and influence.

Zelenskyy’s media-friendly appearance in Paris in December 2019 could not mask the fact that the Normandy Four talks exposed the weakness of Ukraine’s position and the growing influence of Russia’s approach, particularly in the context of a disengaged UK and US, a Germany increasingly tired of this conflict, and a French president who is looking to accommodate Russian preferences.

Indeed, Vladimir Putin was able to exploit the opportunity to apply his favoured formula for conducting foreign policy: highly personalized informal interactions, which seek specific political concessions from a cornered partner and which are short on transparent, stable and law-based solutions. The Paris meeting of the Normandy Four in December 2019 clearly demonstrated that simply sitting down and talking to Putin is not a magic pill to end the conflict, an idea frequently expressed by Zelenskyy.

In 2020, the strongest clue as to what Putin’s plans for Ukraine might be is the appointment of Dmitry Kozak as the main curator of the ‘Ukraine file’ (meaning Donbas and Crimea), replacing Vladislav Surkov, his long-time competitor for the role. The next Normandy meeting is expected in April 2020, and Kyiv should be aware of the possible pitfalls.

While Kozak is perceived by some as a more pragmatic and less aggressive counterpart, his past tells a different story. In fact, he was the architect of the long-term strategy for Moldova, which centred on the federalization of Moldova and the reincorporation of the separatist region of Transnistria into Moldova.

The presence of Russian military forces stationed on the ground there amounts to ‘armed suasion’ – using a military presence to demand political concessions from Moldova. The so-called ‘Kozak memorandum’ – which de facto re-writes the constitution of Moldova – contains a detailed explanation of that strategy.

Kozak could try to deliver a similar situation for Ukraine. Less emphasis is being put on specific terms (federalization vs. special status) but the overarching aims are unchanged since 2014, in the same way they have been in Moldova since 2003. Kozak is a man who can play the long game, while the team of the Ukrainian president chases quick successes without calculating long-term risks. This could be a dangerous combination.

The ‘human-centric approach’ to resolving the conflict followed by President Zelenskyy is a double-edged sword. The focuses on humanitarian issues and readiness for big compromises are clear positive signals to Western partners and supporters of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party. But prioritizing humanitarian issues over national security considerations could easily lead Ukraine into a Russian trap, which does not so much rely on a massive military assault but envisages creeping control over Ukraine’s future as its ultimate goal.




strategy

Bumgarner not a fan of the opener strategy

Madison Bumgarner has made it known he's not a fan of the "opener," a strategy of utilizing a pitcher -- usually a reliever -- to get the first few outs of a game before bringing in a pitcher who would usually start or pitch long relief.




strategy

US 2020: America’s National Security Strategy and Middle East Policy

Invitation Only Research Event

10 February 2020 - 10:30am to 11:30am

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Dr Kori Schake, Resident Scholar and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute 
Chair: Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Director, US and Americas Programme

In the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump made a series of campaign promises concerning US foreign policy towards the Middle East. Since assuming office, President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, withdrawn troops from Syria, relocated the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and orchestrated the strike against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Against a backdrop of Trump's inclination towards withdrawing from the region, countries across the Middle East are being rocked by protests, Turkey’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile has threatened to undermine cohesion within NATO and the much hoped for ceasefire in Libya between UN-backed government leader, Fayez al-Sarraj, and opposition leader, Khalifa Haftar, failed to materialize.

In light of the upcoming US elections in November 2020, the future of US national security policy promises to be a prominent issue for the next administration. In this vein, the US and Americas Programme at Chatham House plans a yearlong focus on the pivotal US 2020 elections.

At this event, Dr Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute will discuss the future of US foreign policy towards the Middle East. How have domestic and party politics in the US – and the unfolding presidential campaign – shaped recent policy decisions by the Trump administration? Should we expect policy objectives in the Middle East to remain consistent or shift under a second Trump term? And what direction could US foreign policy towards the region take under a Democratic administration?

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

Event attributes

Chatham House Rule

Department/project

US and Americas Programme




strategy

The Changing Nature of Russia’s Military Strategy and Its Tactical Application

Invitation Only Research Event

12 November 2019 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Oscar Jonsson, Director, Stockholm Free World Forum (Frivärld)
Mathieu Boulègue, Research Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
Chair: ​Alice Billon-Galland, Research Associate, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Russia’s military strategy is increasingly blurring the boundaries between war and peace. As the nature of warfare changes, the Kremlin is adapting its strategies to pursue conflict, especially through non-military means - below the threshold of armed violence. 

Russian military tactics are often mistaken for strategy in the West. Oscar Jonson, author of The Russian Understanding of War, will talk through this debate and explore how the Russian leadership now understands military strategy in the context of modern warfare. Mathieu Boulègue will address the more operational aspects of contemporary warfare for Russia, notably grey zone operations. 

Department/project

Anna Morgan

Administrator, Ukraine Forum
+44 (0)20 7389 3274




strategy

Tonga Energy Road Map: Energy Security, the Aid Paradigm, and Pacific Geostrategy

Research Event

3 June 2013 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Chatham House, London

Event participants

Lord Tu'ivakano, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga

Lord Tu'ivakano, will deliver a keynote address on the development of the Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM), which plans for 50% of the country's energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. 

The Kingdom of Tonga is highly susceptible to both climate change as well as changes in global energy prices due to its high dependency on imported oil. The TERM has required both ground-breaking whole-of-sector institutional changes in Tonga as well as innovative coordination across a range of development partners, including the World Bank, ADB and the UN. Key players in the international community have closely watched the development and implementation of the TERM as it presents a complete change in the aid paradigm that is not just specific to Tonga, or the energy sector. 

Registration for this event has now closed.




strategy

Orioles considering using 'opener' strategy

Since the Rays debuted "the opener" last May, no fewer than eight teams have helped transform the concept from a fad into a mini-movement. Consider the Orioles a candidate to dive in next.




strategy

The inadequacy of the UK's childhood obesity strategy

The UK government published its report Childhood Obesity: a Plan for Action, in August 2016. A new analysis article takes them to task for the inadequacy of that response to a growing problem. Neena Modi is a professor of neonatal medicine, at Imperial College London, and president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and joins...






strategy

Safe and well : supporting families, protecting children : the Government of South Australia's strategy for keeping families and children safe and well / Department for Child Protection.

'"Safe and well" outlines the actions the Government of South Australia is taking to support families at risk of entering the child protection system, protect children from harm when they come into care, and invest in young people to leave care with opportunities for a bright future.




strategy

Basin-wide environmental watering strategy / Murray‒Darling Basin Authority.




strategy

Review of the Basin-wide environmental watering strategy : Office of Science and Knowledge / Murray‒Darling Basin Authority.




strategy

Forum 2019 : 2D: Marketing hacks for legal services in 2019 : slides / presented by Loren Renton, Business Partnership and Digital Strategy Manager, NewsCorp.




strategy

Annual Evaluation Work Plan : Indigenous Advancement Strategy.




strategy

National return to work strategy 2020-2030 : a national strategy to drive and leverage national action to improve return to work outcomes for workers with a work-related injury or illness / Safe Work Australia.




strategy

Kansas City Data-Sharing Effort Showcases Ballmer Group's Strategy

A $59 million investment in software developer Social Solutions aims to ease the flow of data among schools and social service providers.




strategy

The new BIS strategy - bringing the Americas and Basel closer together

Speech by Mr Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, at the Fourteenth ASBA-BCBS-FSI High-level Meeting on Global and Regional Supervisory Priorities, Lima, 1 October 2019.




strategy

Oblique Strategy #90

Once the search has begun, something will be found




strategy

Neural Correlates of Strategy Switching in the Macaque Orbital Prefrontal Cortex

We can adapt flexibly to environment changes and search for the most appropriate rule to a context. The orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo) has been associated with decision making, rule generation and maintenance, and more generally has been considered important for behavioral flexibility. To better understand the neural mechanisms underlying the flexible behavior, we studied the ability to generate a switching signal in monkey PFo when a strategy is changed. In the strategy task, we used a visual cue to instruct two male rhesus monkeys either to repeat their most recent choice (i.e., stay strategy) or to change it (i.e., shift strategy). To identify the strategy switching-related signal, we compared nonswitch and switch trials, which cued the same or a different strategy from the previous trial, respectively. We found that the switching-related signal emerged during the cue presentation and it was combined with the strategy signal in a subpopulation of cells. Moreover, the error analysis showed that the activity of the switch-related cells reflected whether the monkeys erroneously switched or not the strategy, rather than what was required for that trial. The function of the switching signal could be to prompt the use of different strategies when older strategies are no longer appropriate, conferring the ability to adapt flexibly to environmental changes. In our task, the switching signal might contribute to the implementation of the strategy cued, overcoming potential interference effects from the strategy previously cued. Our results support the idea that ascribes to PFo an important role for behavioral flexibility.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We can flexibly adapt our behavior to a changing environment. One of the prefrontal areas traditionally associated with the ability to adapt to new contingencies is the orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo). We analyzed the switching related activity using a strategy task in which two rhesus monkeys were instructed by a visual cue either to repeat or change their most recent choice, respectively using a stay or a shift strategy. We found that PFo neurons were modulated by the strategy switching signal, pointing to the importance of PFo in behavioral flexibility by generating control over the switching of strategies.




strategy

Alberta doctors push back against government's 'divide-and-conquer' strategy

"It is unfortunate that it has come to pass that we have to collectively and overtly publicly declare that we are unified," says Alberta Medical Association president Christine Molnar.



  • News/Canada/Edmonton

strategy

Zimbabwe: In Search of a New Strategy




strategy

Zimbabwe: An Opposition Strategy




strategy

Coronavirus: Professor raises 'big problem' with Nicola Sturgeon's test, trace, isolate strategy

A PUBLIC health professor has warned that the Scottish Government’s strategy to escape the lockdown will encounter “a big problem” unless test results can be provided quicker.




strategy

Coronavirus in Scotland: Testing strategy to be reviewed amid care worker reports

THE SCOTTISH Government is reviewing its Covid-19 testing strategy after the Deputy First Minster has been left “frustrated” by reports home care workers have been told to travel to the other side of Scotland for tests.




strategy

Kansas City Data-Sharing Effort Showcases Ballmer Group's Strategy

A $59 million investment in software developer Social Solutions aims to ease the flow of data among schools and social service providers.




strategy

Letters: Every country needs its own specific Covid-19 strategy

NEIL Mackay (“Johnson? Sturgeon? When it comes to coronavirus they are both the same”, The Herald, May 5) lambasts Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson for both taking an almost identical approach in their fight against Covid-19, somehow implying that this is in itself a fault.




strategy

A Classroom Strategy: Drawing Arguments From Evidence (Video)

William Leou, a 6th grade science teacher at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies, uses an organizational worksheet to help students draw arguments from evidence.




strategy

A Classroom Strategy: Student-Teacher Conferences Promote Learning (Video)

Chris Knutson, an 8th grade history teacher at Horning Middle School in Waukesha, Wis., shares how he incorporates learning conferences into his lessons.




strategy

Resuscitation of Preterm Neonates With Limited Versus High Oxygen Strategy

Preterm infants can be successfully resuscitated with <100% oxygen (O2); however, initiation with room air remains controversial. Current Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) guidelines suggest using air or blended O2 to titrate O2 to meet target preductal saturation goals.

This is the first trial to compare a limited O2 strategy to target NRP–recommended transitional goal saturations versus a high O2 strategy in preterm infants. The limited O2 strategy decreased integrated excess oxygen and oxidative stress and improved respiratory outcomes. (Read the full article)




strategy

Fin24.com | MONEY CLINIC: I can save R36 000 a month. What's the best investment strategy?

A South African working abroad, able to save R36 000 per month, hopeful that he will continue these earnings, seeks the best investment strategy. Investment expert Elian Wiener responds.




strategy

Congo: Five Priorities for a Peacebuilding Strategy




strategy

Congo: A Comprehensive Strategy to Disarm the FDLR




strategy

8 Tips for a Killer Social CRM Strategy

Customer relationship management spent the last couple of years going social. Make sure your CRM strategy incorporates this important new capability in 2020.




strategy

It's Hard to Stay on Top of Education Policy. You've Got to Have a Strategy

There's no one-stop shop to get everything you need from education policy, politics, and practice, writes academic Deven E. Carlson.




strategy

The Ethics of Creating a Resource Allocation Strategy During the COVID-19 Pandemic




strategy

How Geospatial Data Should Influence Analytics Strategy: Analytics Corner

Advanced analytics programs can incorporate geospatial data. Learn how such data can be used to augment local marketing plans




strategy

NGOs set targets for new EU chemicals strategy

Commission must safeguard standards in the wake of Covid-19




strategy

PUBG Mobiles new Arctic Mode is here: How to play and simple strategy guide




strategy

Government to rework strategy for setting up chip units

In March 2014, the government approved two projects for setting up semiconductor units and also created an empowered committee (EC) for implementation of the projects.




strategy

Covid-19 vaccine quest: Containment and mitigation might be the only strategy till vaccine comes

Efforts are underway to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus on an urgent basis, but it’s a long-drawn process




strategy

~$CPIL$372157$title$textbox$Three-pronged E. coli Strategy to Help Cut Losses, Improve Profitability$/CPIL$~




strategy

Trump Administration's Lack Of A Unified Coronavirus Strategy Will Cost Lives, A Dozen Experts Say




strategy

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server And Web 10.4 XSS / Disclosure / SSRF / Code Execution

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server and Web version 10.4 suffers from remote code execution, cross site scripting, server-side request forgery, and information disclosure vulnerabilities.




strategy

American Cities of the Future 2019/20 – FDI strategy

A more detailed look at fDi's judges’ top five American Cities of the Future 2019/20 for FDI strategy. Naomi Davies reports.