Male subfertility effects of sub-chronic ethanol exposure during stress in a rat model

Background: Stressful conditions increase alcohol consumption in men. Clinical studies link disruption of the neuroendocrine stress system with alcoholism, but the effect of alcohol in a stress condition on male fertility is still relatively poorly understood. This project was undertaken to evaluate the effect of sub-chronic alcohol in a stress condition on male fertility in a rat model. Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group, a stress group that was exposed to restraint stress, an ethanol group that was injected with ethanol daily, and a stress + ethanol group that was injected with ethanol daily and was exposed to restraint stress, simultaneously. Furthermore, testis tissue was evaluated histomorphometrically and immunohistochemically for apoptosis using a TUNEL assay after 12 days. Epididymis sperm analysis was done. Blood cortisol and testosterone were measured and expression of hypothalamic kisspeptin (Kiss1), RFRP-3, and MC4R mRNA were evaluated. Results: Ethanol exposure during restraint stress did not alter body weight. Ethanol exposure decreased the cellular diameter and area, and stress increased the cellular diameter and area, in comparison with the control group. In the stress group, in comparison with the other groups, the number of seminiferous tubules decreased and the numerical density of seminiferous tubules increased. In addition, ethanol exposure and/or stress reduced semen analysis parameters (sperm viability and motility), but did not change serum testosterone concentrations. Apoptosis increased in spermatogonia with ethanol exposure, but spermatocytes were not affected. Our data present the novel finding that ethanol and stress reduced hypothalamic Kiss1 mRNA expression, while ethanol exposure decreased hypothalamic RFRP-3 and MC4R mRNA expression. Conclusions: Ethanol decreased cortisol hormone level during the restraint stress condition and attenuated hypothalamic reproductive-related gene expressions. Therefore, ethanol exposure may induce reduction of sperm viability, increased sperm mortality, and increased apoptosis, with long-term effects, and may induce permanent male subfertility

Highly Ordered Mesoporous CuCo₂O₄ Nanowires, a Promising Solution for High-Performance Supercapacitors

The search for faster, safer, and more efficient energy storage systems continues to inspire researchers to develop new energy storage materials with ultrahigh performance. Mesoporous nanostructures are interesting for supercapacitors because of their high surface area, controlled porosity, and large number of active sites, which promise the utilization of the full capacitance of active materials. Herein, highly ordered mesoporous CuCo₂O₄ nanowires have been synthesized by nanocasting from a silica SBA-15 template. These nanowires exhibit superior pseudocapacitance of 1210 F g^–1 in the initial cycles. Electroactivation of the electrode in the subsequent 250 cycles causes a significant increase in capacitance to 3080 F g^–1. An asymmetric supercapacitor composed of mesoporous CuCo₂O₄ nanowires for the positive electrode and activated carbon for the negative electrode demonstrates an ultrahigh energy density of 42.8 Wh kg^–1 with a power density of 15 kW kg^–1 plus excellent cycle life. We also show that two asymmetric devices in series can efficiently power 5 mm diameter blue, green, and red LED indicators for 60 min. This work could lead to a new generation of hybrid supercapacitors to bridge the energy gap between chemical batteries and double layer supercapacitors