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This study examines the crucial role of chief executive officers (CEOs) in post-acquisition integration, focusing on Chegg, a prominent ed-tech company in a rapidly evolving industry. Analyzing CEO actions post-acquisition through interviews and metrics, we find that a three-year CEO retention period significantly contributes to successful integration at Chegg. This research emphasizes the importance of understanding ideal CEO retention and their strategic actions, offering insights for more successful post-acquisition integration and long-term economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germanium, a promising electrode material for high-capacity lithium ion batteries (LIBs) anodes, attracted much attention because of its large capacity and remarkably fast charge/discharge kinetics. Multivalent-ion batteries are of interest as potential alternatives to LIBs because they have a higher energy density and are less prone to safety hazards. In this study, we probed the potential of amorphous Ge anodes for use in multivalent-ion batteries. Although alloying Al and Zn in Ge anodes is thermodynamically unstable, Mg and Ca alloys with Ge form stable compounds, Mg2.3Ge and Ca2.4Ge that exhibit higher capacities than those obtained by alloying Li, Na, or K with Ge, corresponding to 1697 and 1771 mA·h·g–1, respectively. Despite having a slightly lower capacity than Ca–Ge, Mg–Ge shows an approximately 150% smaller volume expansion ratio (231% vs. 389%) and three orders of magnitude higher ion diffusivity (3.0 × 10−8 vs. 1.1 × 10−11 cm2 s−1) than Ca–Ge. Furthermore, ion diffusion in Mg–Ge occurs at a rate comparable to that of monovalent ions, such as Li+, Na+, and K+. The outstanding performance of the Mg–Ge system may originate from the coordination number of the Ge host atoms and the smaller atomic size of Mg. Therefore, Ge anodes could be applied in multivalent-ion batteries using Mg2+ as the carrier ion because its properties can compete with or surpass monovalent ions. Here, we report that the maximum capacity, volume expansion ratio, and ion diffusivities of the alloying electrode materials can be understood using atomic-scale structural properties, such as the host–host and host–ion coordination numbers, as valuable indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional nanomaterials have drawn attention as an alternative electrode material for stretchable electronics. In particular, silver nanowires (Ag NWs) have been studied as stretchable electrodes for strain sensors, 3D electronics, and freeform-shaped electronic circuits. In this study, Ag NWs ink was printed on the pre-stretched silicone rubber film up to 40% in length using a drop-on-demand dispenser. After printing, silicone rubber film was released and stretched up to 20% as a cyclic test with 10-time repetition, and the ratios of the resistance of the stretched state to that of the released state (Rstretched/Rreleased) were measured at each cycle. For Ag NWs electrode printed on the pre-stretched silicone rubber at 30%, Rstretched/Rreleased at 10% and 20% strain was 1.05, and 1.57, respectively, which is significantly less than about 7 for Ag NWs at the 10% strain without pre-stretched substrate. In the case of 10% strain on the 30% pre-stretched substrate, the substrate is stretched and the contact points with Ag NWs were not changed much as the silicone rubber film stretched, which meant that Ag NWs may slide between other Ag NWs. Ag NWs electrode on the 40% pre-stretched substrate was stretched, strain was concentrated on the Ag NWs electrode and failure of electrode occurred, because cracks occurred at the surface of silicone rubber film when it was pre-stretched to 40%. We confirmed that printed Ag NWs on the pre-stretched film showed more contact points and less electric resistance compared to printed Ag NWs on the film without pre-stretching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat inflammatory diseases induces cellular toxicity by increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impairing autophagic flux. In this study, we investigated whether diclofenac induces cancer cell death and the mechanism by which diclofenac causes cell death. We observed that diclofenac induces mitotic arrest with a half-maximal effective concentration of 170 μM and cell death with a half-maximal lethal dose of 200 µM during 18-h incubation in HeLa cells. Cellular microtubule imaging and in vitro tubulin polymerization assays demonstrated that treatment with diclofenac elicits microtubule destabilization. Autophagy relies on microtubule-mediated transport and the fusion of autophagic vesicles. We observed that diclofenac inhibits both phagophore movement, an early step of autophagy, and the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes, a late step of autophagy. Diclofenac also induces the fragmentation of mitochondria and the Golgi during cell death. We found that diclofenac induces cell death further in combination with 5-fuorouracil, a DNA replication inhibitor than in single treatment in cancer cells. Pancreatic cancer cells, which have high basal autophagy, are particularly sensitive to cell death by diclofenac. Our study suggests that microtubule destabilization by diclofenac induces cancer cell death via compromised spindle assembly checkpoints and increased ROS through impaired autophagy flux. Diclofenac may be a candidate therapeutic drug in certain type of cancers by inhibiting microtubule-mediated cellular events in combination with clinically utilized nucleoside metabolic inhibitors, including 5-fluorouracil, to block cancer cell proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium and transmitted by mosquitoes, is an epidemic that mainly occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. As treatments differ across species of malarial parasites, there is a need to develop rapid diagnostic methods to differentiate malarial species. Herein, we developed a multiplex malaria Pan/Pf/Pv/actin beta loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) to diagnose Plasmodium spp., P. falciparum, and P. vivax, as well as the internal control (IC), within 40 min. The detection limits of the multiplex malaria Pan/Pf/Pv/IC LAMP were 1 × 102, 1 × 102, 1 × 102, and 1 × 103 copies/µL for four vectors, including the 18S rRNA gene (Plasmodium spp.), lactate dehydrogenase gene (P. falciparum), 16S rRNA gene (P. vivax), and human actin beta gene (IC), respectively. The performance of the LAMP assay was compared and evaluated by evaluating 208 clinical samples (118 positive and 90 negative samples) with the commercial RealStar® Malaria S&T PCR Kit 1.0. The developed multiplex malaria Pan/Pf/Pv/IC LAMP assay showed comparable sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) with the commercial RealStar® Malaria S&T PCR Kit 1.0 (100%). These results suggest that the multiplex malaria Pan/Pf/Pv/IC LAMP could be used as a point-of-care molecular diagnostic test for malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chromium diffusion coating was applied on an oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic-martensitic (ODS-FM) steel to improve oxidation resistance at high temperature. By carrying out physical vapor deposition followed by inter-diffusion heat treatment, a thin Cr-rich carbide layer was produced on the ODS-FM steel. Both the as-received and surface-modified specimens were oxidation-tested at 650 °C in air and steam environments for 500 h. The surface-modified specimens showed improved oxidation resistance in both environments. In an air environment, both conditions exhibited a thin and continuous chromia layer, but the formation of Cr2O3 and (Mn, Cr)3O4 nodules resulted in greater weight gain for the as-received specimen. In a steam environment, weight gain increased for both the as-received and surface-modified specimen. Especially, the as-received specimen showed much greater weight gain with the formation of a thick oxide layer consisted of outer Fe-rich oxide and inner (Fe, Cr, Mn) oxide layers. On the other hand, a thin and continuous chromia layer was formed for the surface-modified specimen, which resulted in much less weight gain in a steam environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance corrosion resistance of stainless steel (SS) 316LN at high temperature environments, surface modification was carried out by Si deposition and subsequent heat treatment at 900 °C for 1 h. This resulted in the formation of Fe5Ni3Si2 phase on the surface region. The surface-modified alloy was exposed to high temperature S-CO2 (650 °C, 20 MPa) and steam (650 °C, 0.1 MPa) for 500 h and evaluated for its corrosion behavior in comparison to the as-received alloy. In S-CO2 environment, the as-received SS 316LN showed severe oxide spallation and thick Fe-rich oxide formation, while the surface-modified alloy formed a continuous and adherent Si- and Cr-rich oxide layer. In steam, as-received SS 316LN formed very thick duplex Fe- and Cr-rich oxide layers. On the other hand, surface-modified SS 316LN formed notably thinner oxides, which could be attributed to the formation of Si-rich oxide under outer Fe-rich oxides on the surface-modified alloy. Thus, in view of the weight changes, oxide thickness, and morphologies of the two conditions, it was found that Si diffusion coating was effective in improving the corrosion resistance of SS 316LN in both S-CO2 and steam environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]