PCB126 impairs human sperm functions by affecting post-translational modifications and mitochondrial functions.

Over the past few decades, there has been a consistent decline in semen quality across the globe, with environmental pollution being identified as the primary cause. Among the various contaminants present in the environment, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have garnered significant attention due to their high toxicity, slow degradation, bio-accumulation, and long-range migration. PCBs, which include 210 congeners, are a crucial type of POPs that are known to have harmful effects on the environment and human health. Among the various PCB congeners, 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126) is a typical environmental endocrine-disrupting chemical that is widely distributed and has been associated with several health hazards. However, the impact and mechanism of PCB126 on human sperm function has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the effects of different concentrations of PCB126 (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 µg/mL) on sperm motility, viability, hyperactivation, and acrosome reaction after incubation for different periods (1 and 2 h), delving deeper into the molecular mechanism of human sperm dysfunction caused by PCB126. First, we investigated the link between PCB126 treatment and the occurrence of protein modifications that are critical to sperm function regulation, such as tyrosine phosphorylation and lysine glutarylation. Second, we examined the potential impact of PCB126 on different parameters related to mitochondrial function, including reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde levels, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondria respiration and adenosine triphosphate generation. Our findings indicate that exposure to environmental pollutants such as PCB126 in vitro may have a negative impact on human sperm functions by interfering with post-translational modifications and mitochondrial functions.

Hexachlorocyclohexane impairs human sperm motility by affecting lysine glutarylation and mitochondrial functions.

Decreased sperm motility is a leading cause of male infertility and persistent organic pollutants are known to contribute significantly to the development of this disease. The effects of organochlorine pesticides such as hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) on human sperm function and their mechanisms of action have received much attention, but are still not fully understood. Herein, we discovered that HCH has a concentration- and time-dependent inhibitory effect on human sperm motility in vitro. Moreover, HCH could reduce the levels of lysine glutarylation (Kglu) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in sperm. Meanwhile, HCH could increase reactive oxygen species and thereby lead to mitochondrial depolarization and the down-regulation of adenosine triphosphate levels. In particular, we observed that sodium glutarate (Na-glu), the precursor of glutaryl-CoA, could alleviate the inhibitory effect of HCH on sperm Kglu levels, whereas the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) had no effect. Intriguingly, both Na-glu and NAC were able to partially inhibit the HCH-induced increase in sperm ROS levels and impaired sperm motility. In conclusion, we propose that HCH inhibits sperm Kglu, leading to the disruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism, which in turn adversely affects sperm motility.

Ultrahigh phase transition temperature in a metal-halide perovskite-type material containing unprecedented hydrogen bonding interactions.

A novel organic-inorganic ABX3 perovskite-type material with specific hydrogen bonding interactions, N,N-dimethylethanolammonium trichlorocadmate ([DMEA]CdCl3), has been synthesized as a phase transition material. It is notable that the DMEA cations are arranged to form one-dimensional chains connected by hydrogen bonds at room temperature, which are very sparse in other perovskite-type compounds. The strong intermolecular interactions have made the phase transition temperature of the material reach up to 429 K, as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry measurements, variable-temperature structural analyses, and dielectric measurements. The origin of the symmetry-breaking phase transition is associated with the motion or reorientation of the DMEA cations, accompanied by the crystal structures from orthorhombic Pnma to monoclinic P21/c with the temperature decreases. The finding of [DMEA]CdCl3 with unprecedented hydrogen bonding interactions has opened a new avenue to design novel phase transition materials with higher transition temperatures.

[C6N2H18][SbI5]: A Lead-free Hybrid Halide Semiconductor with Exceptional Dielectric Relaxation.

[C6N2H18][SbI5] (1), a novel metal halide semiconductor with dielectric relaxation behavior, has been successfully synthesized, in which the cavities between the one-dimensional [SbI5] n2- polyanions are occupied by 2-methyl-1,5-pentanediammonium (2-MPDA) cations. 1 undergoes a reversible solid-state phase transition at TC = 192.7 K and shows a step-like dielectric anomaly. Interestingly, above TC, distinct dielectric dispersion in a wide temperature range is also witnessed. Remarkably, the solid state UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum of 1 exhibits a slightly gentler absorption edge at about 650 nm; that is, 1 adopts an indirect band gap with 1.92 electron volts. The combined narrow band gap, strong photoconductivity effect, and excellent dielectric relaxation might shed light on the exploitation of lead-free hybrid metal halide molecular materials with promising application prospects in thermoresponsive relaxation-type dielectric materials and photovoltaic conversion devices.

A Semiconducting Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskite-type Non-ferroelectric Piezoelectric with Excellent Piezoelectricity.

Piezoelectric materials are a class of important functional materials applied in high-voltage sources, sensors, vibration reducers, actuators, motors, and so on. Herein, [(CH3 )3 S]3 [Bi2 Br9 ](1) is a brilliant semiconducting organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite-type non-ferroelectric piezoelectric with excellent piezoelectricity. Strikingly, the value of the piezoelectric coefficient d33 is estimated as ≈18 pC N-1 . Such a large piezoelectric coefficient in non-ferroelectric piezoelectric has been scarcely reported and is comparable with those of typically one-composition non-ferroelectric piezoelectrics such as ZnO (3pC N-1 ) and much greater than those of most known typical materials. In addition, 1 exhibits semiconducting behavior with an optical band gap of ≈2.58 eV that is lower than the reported value of 3.37 eV for ZnO. This discovery opens a new avenue to exploit molecular non-ferroelectric piezoelectric and should stimulate further exploration of non-ferroelectric piezoelectric due to their high stability and low loss characteristics.

Fluorescent Properties of Manganese Halide Benzothiazole Inorganic-Organic Hybrids.

The reaction of manganese (II) halides MnX2 and benzothiazole (btz) in the concentrated acids HX (X = Cl, Br) at 80 °C resulted in the formation of two inorganic-organic hybrid complexes: [(btz)2(MnX4)]·2H2O (X = Cl, 1; X = Br, 2). Both compounds showed green luminescence and exhibited moderate quantum yields of 43.17 % for 1 and 26.18 % for 2, which were directly originated from the tetrahedral coordination of Mn2+ ion. Two organic - inorganic hybrids [(btz)2(MnX4)]·2H2O based on MnCl2, benzothiazole and halide acids emitted green light with the moderate quantum efficiencies when excited by 365 nm light. Graphical abstract Two organic-inorganic hybrids [(btz)2(MnX4)]·2H2O based on MnCl2, benzothiazole and halide acids emitted green light with the moderate quantum efficiencies when excited by 365 nm light.

A symmetry breaking phase transition-triggered high-temperature solid-state quadratic nonlinear optical switch coupled with a switchable dielectric constant in an organic-inorganic hybrid compound.

An organic-inorganic hybrid compound, [NH3(CH2)5NH3]SbCl5, exhibits a switchable second harmonic generation (SHG) effect between SHG-OFF and SHG-ON states and tunable dielectric behaviors between high and low dielectric states, connected with the changes in the dynamics of 1,5-pentanediammonium cations during its centrosymmetric-to-noncentrosymmetric symmetry breaking phase transition at 365.4 K.

Structural phase transitions of a layered organic-inorganic hybrid compound: tetra(cyclopentylammonium) decachlorotricadmate(II), [C5H9NH3]4Cd3Cl10.

A layered organic-inorganic hybrid compound, tetra(cyclopentylammonium) decachlorotricadmate(II) (1), in which the two-dimensional [Cd3Cl10](4-)n networks built up from three face-sharing CdCl6 octahedra are separated by cyclopentylammonium cation bilayers, has been discovered as a new phase transition material. It undergoes two successive structural phase transitions, at 197.3 and 321.6 K, which were confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry measurements, variable-temperature structural analyses, and dielectric measurements. The crystal structures of 1 determined at 93, 298, and 343 K are solved in P212121, Pbca, and Cmca, respectively. A precise analysis of the structural differences between these three structures reveals that the origin of the phase transition at 197.3 K is ascribed to the order-disorder transition of the cyclopentylammonium cations, while the phase transition at 321.6 K originates from the distortion of the two-dimensional [Cd3Cl10](4-)n network.

(2,4-Dichloro-phen-yl)(diphenyl-phosphor-yl)methanol.

In the title compound, C(19)H(15)Cl(2)O(2)P, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the phenyl rings bonded to the P atom is 75.4 (1)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into chains running along the a axis by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Mol-ecules are further connected into a three-dimensional array by weak C-H⋯O inter-actions.

(Diphenyl-phosphor-yl)(2-nitro-phen-yl)methanol.

In the title compound, C(19)H(16)NO(4)P, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the phenyl rings bonded to the P atom is 75.4 (1)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into chains running along the a axis by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Mol-ecules are further connected into a three-dimensional array by weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Tetra-µ-benzoato-κO:O'-bis-[(benzoic acid-κO)nickel(II)].

The title compound, [Ni(2)(C(7)H(5)O(2))(4)(C(7)H(6)O(2))(2)], is composed of two Ni(II) ions, four bridging benzoate anions and two η(1)-benzoic acid mol-ecules. The [Ni(2)(PhCOO)(4)] unit adopts a typical paddle-wheel conformation. The center between the two Ni(II) atoms represents a crystallographic center of inversion. In addition, each Ni(II) ion also coordinates to one O atom from a benzoic acid mol-ecule. The crystal packing is realised by inter-molecular hydrogen-bonding inter-actions and π-π stacking inter-actions, with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.921 (1) Å.

Naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetra-carboxylic acid 1,8-anhydride-4,4'-bipyridine (1/1).

The title compound, C(14)H(6)O(7)·C(10)H(8)N(2), has been hydro-thermally synthesized. Structural ananlysis indicates that the crystals are produced by cocrystallization of naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetra-carboxylic acid 1,8-anhydride and 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy) mol-ecules. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter-molecular O-H⋯N and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid distances = 3.5846 (9) Å].