4 research outputs found
What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare
Russiaās invasion of Ukraine in 2022 forced the United States and its NATO partners to be confronted with the impact of hybrid warfare far beyond the battlefield. Targeting Europeās energy security, Russiaās malign influence campaigns and malicious cyber intrusions are affecting global gas prices, driving up food costs, disrupting supply chains and grids, and testing US and Allied military mobility. This study examines how hybrid warfare is being used by NATOās adversaries, what vulnerabilities in energy security exist across the Alliance, and what mitigation strategies are available to the member states.
Cyberattacks targeting the renewable energy landscape during Europeās green transition are increasing, making it urgent that new tools are developed to protect these emerging technologies. No less significant are the cyber and information operations targeting energy security in Eastern Europe as it seeks to become independent from Russia. Economic coercion is being used against Western and Central Europe to stop gas from flowing. Chinaās malign investments in Southern and Mediterranean Europe are enabling Beijing to control several NATO member statesā critical energy infrastructure at a critical moment in the global balance of power. What Ukraine Taught NATO about Hybrid Warfare will be an important reference for NATO officials and US installations operating in the European theater.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1952/thumbnail.jp
Biomaterial Scaffolds as Preāmetastatic Niche Mimics Systemically Alter the Primary Tumor and Tumor Microenvironment
Primary tumor (PT) immune cells and preāmetastatic niche (PMN) sites are critical to metastasis. Recently, synthetic biomaterial scaffolds used as PMN mimics are shown to capture both immune and metastatic tumor cells. Herein, studies are performed to investigate whether the scaffoldāmediated redirection of immune and tumor cells would alter the primary tumor microenvironment (TME). Transcriptomic analysis of PT cells from scaffoldāimplanted and mockāsurgery mice identifies differentially regulated pathways relevant to invasion and metastasis progression. Transcriptomic differences are hypothesized to result from scaffoldāmediated modulations of immune cell trafficking and phenotype in the TME. Culturing tumor cells with conditioned media generated from PT immune cells of scaffoldāimplanted mice decrease invasion in vitro more than twoāfold relative to mock surgery controls and reduce activity of invasionāpromoting transcription factors. Secretomic characterization of the conditioned media delineates interactions between immune cells in the TME and tumor cells, showing an increase in the panāmetastasis inhibitor decorin and a concomitant decrease in invasionāpromoting chemokine (CāC motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) in scaffoldāimplanted mice. Flow cytometric and transcriptomic profiling of PT immune cells identify phenotypically distinct tumorāassociated macrophages (TAMs) in scaffoldāimplanted mice, which may contribute to an invasionāsuppressive TME. Taken together, this study demonstrates biomaterial scaffolds systemically influence metastatic progression through manipulation of the TME.Biomaterial implants that mimic the preāmetastatic niche are shown to redirect immune and tumor cell populations in vivo. However, the systemic effects of preāmetastatic niche mimics on metastasis progression have yet to be characterized. In this work, synthetic biomaterial implants were shown to systemically alter the primary tumor and the tumor microenvironment to promote an invasionāsuppressive phenotype.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144244/1/adhm201700903-sup-0001-S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144244/2/adhm201700903_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144244/3/adhm201700903.pd
PreāMetastatic Niche: Biomaterial Scaffolds as Preāmetastatic Niche Mimics Systemically Alter the Primary Tumor and Tumor Microenvironment (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 10/2018)
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144278/1/adhm201870040.pd