Symbol or substance? Environmental regulations and corporate environmental actions decoupling.

Our paper focuses on how firms strategically respond to environmental regulations on environmental actions. Given the greater discretion in environmental information disclosure and relaxed environmental regulations enforcement in China, we propose that firms tend to say more while do less to obtain environmental legitimacy, namely corporate environmental actions decoupling. Using a sample of 5422 Chinese firm-year observations over the period of 2012-2018, we document that stringent environmental regulations contribute to a significant inconsistency between environmental reporting and actual environmental performance. Moreover, we demonstrate that this inconsistency is exacerbated when firms possess greater bargaining power and fewer financial resources. Our paper not only advances the understanding of how firms navigate external regulations by examining the tradeoffs between symbolic and substantive actions, but also sheds light on factors influencing decoupling/greenwashing practices from the perspective of government-business relations in China, and potentially in other emerging economies.

Multi-Scale Risk Connectedness Between Economic Policy Uncertainty of China and Global Oil Prices in Time-Frequency Domains.

With a sample of monthly data from January 2000 to July 2021, this paper investigates the risk connectedness relationship between different kinds of China's EPU and global oil prices in both time and frequency domains. To achieve that, a research framework mainly consists of wavelet transform method and spillover index approach is established. The results show that EPU of China receives the risk spillover from global oil prices in most cases. Moreover, we find fiscal policy uncertainty and trade policy uncertainty are generally the recipients of risk spillover on most time scales, except that monetary policy uncertainty primarily serves as the risk transmitter. Lastly, the risk role of exchange rate policy uncertainty in China has the most frequent change among four kinds of EPU. This paper provides valuable policy implications for policymakers, investors and risk managers in the energy market.

Insufficient ablation promotes the metastasis of residual non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells via upregulating carboxypeptidase A4.

BACKGROUND: Thermal ablation is a potentially curative therapy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Early recurrence after thermal ablation necessitates our attention. METHODS: The invasion and migration abilities of NSCLC after sublethal heat stimulus were observed in vitro and in vivo. Sublethal thermal stimulus molecular changes were identified by RNA sequencing. A xenograft model of NSCLC with insufficient ablation was established to explore the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis-related phenotypes alteration of residual tumors. RESULTS: In vitro, the invasion and migration abilities of NSCLC cells were enhanced 72 h after 44 °C and 46 °C thermal stimulus. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotypes were also upregulated under these conditions. RNA sequencing revealed that the expression of carboxypeptidase A4 (CPA4) was significantly upregulated after thermal stimulus. Significant upregulation of CPA4 and EMT phenotypes was also found in the xenograft model of insufficient NSCLC ablation. The EMT process and invasion and migration abilities can be reversed by silencing CPA4. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that sublethal heat stimulus caused by insufficient ablation can promote EMT and enhance the metastatic capacity of NSCLC. CPA4 plays an important role in these biological processes. Inhibition of CPA4 might be of great significance for improving early-stage NSCLC survival after ablation.

Photothermal Membrane Water Treatment for Two Worlds.

In meeting the increasing need for clean water in both developing and developed countries and in rural and urban communities, photothermal membrane water treatment technologies provide outstanding advantages: For developing countries and rural communities, by utilizing sunlight, photothermal membrane water treatment provides inexpensive, convenient, modular, decentralized, and accessible ways to clean water, which can reduce the consumption of conventional energy (e.g., electricity, natural gas) and the cost of clean water production. In developed countries and urban communities, photothermal membrane water treatment can improve the energy efficiency during water purification. In these water purification processes, the light absorption and light-to-heat conversion of photothermal materials are important factors in determining the membrane efficacy. Nanomaterials with well-controlled structure and optical properties can increase the light absorption and photothermal conversion of newly developed membranes. This Account introduces our recent work on developing scalable, cost-effective, and highly efficient photothermal membranes for four water purification applications: reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), solar steam generation (SSG), and photothermal membrane distillation (PMD). By utilizing photothermal materials, first, we have demonstrated how sunlight can be used to improve the membrane's resistance to biofouling in RO and UF processes by photothermally induced inactivation of microorganisms. Second, we have developed novel SSG membranes (i.e., interfacial evaporators) that can harvest solar energy, convert it to localized heat, and generate clean water by evaporation. This desalination approach is particularly useful and promising for treatment of highly saline water. These new interfacial evaporators utilized graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and polydopamine (PDA). The solar conversion efficiency and environmental sustainability of the interfacial evaporators were optimized via (i) novel and versatile bottom-up biofabrication (e.g., incorporation of photothermal materials during bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) growth) and (ii) easy and cost-effective top-down preparation (e.g., modification of natural wood with photothermal materials). Third, we have developed membranes for PMD that incorporate photothermal materials to generate heat under solar irradiation, thus providing a higher transmembrane temperature difference and higher driving force for effective vapor transport, making the membrane distillation process more energy-efficient. Lastly, this Account compares the photothermal membrane applications, summarizes current challenges for photothermal membrane applications, and offers future directions to facilitate the translation of photothermal membranes from the laboratory to large engineered systems by improving their scalability, stability, and sustainability.

Photothermally Active Reduced Graphene Oxide/Bacterial Nanocellulose Composites as Biofouling-Resistant Ultrafiltration Membranes.

Biofouling poses one of the most serious challenges to membrane technologies by severely decreasing water flux and driving up operational costs. Here, we introduce a novel anti-biofouling ultrafiltration membrane based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), which incoporates GO flakes into BNC in situ during its growth. In contrast to previously reported GO-based membranes for water treatment, the RGO/BNC membrane exhibited excellent aqueous stability under environmentally relevant pH conditions, vigorous mechanical agitation/sonication, and even high pressure. Importantly, due to its excellent photothermal property, under light illumination, the membrane exhibited effective bactericidal activity, obviating the need for any treatment of the feedwater or external energy. The novel design and in situ incorporation of the membranes developed in this study present a proof-of-concept for realizing new, highly efficient, and environmental-friendly anti-biofouling membranes for water purification.

Extreme Mechanical Behavior of Nacre-Mimetic Graphene-Oxide and Silk Nanocomposites.

Biological materials have the ability to withstand extreme mechanical forces due to their unique multilevel hierarchical structure. Here, we fabricated a nacre-mimetic nanocomposite comprised of silk fibroin and graphene oxide that exhibits hybridized dynamic responses arising from alternating high-contrast mechanical properties of the components at the nanoscale. Dynamic mechanical behavior of these nanocomposites is assessed through a microscale ballistic characterization using a 7.6 µm diameter silica sphere moving at a speed of approximately 400 m/s. The volume fraction of graphene oxide in these composites is systematically varied from 0 to 32 vol % to quantify the dynamic effects correlating with the structural morphologies of the graphene oxide flakes. Specific penetration energy of the films rapidly increases as the distribution of graphene oxide flakes evolves from noninteracting, isolated sheets to a partially overlapping continuous sheet. The specific penetration energy of the nanocomposite at the highest graphene oxide content tested here is found to be significantly higher than that of Kevlar fabrics and close to that of pure multilayer graphene. This study evidently demonstrates that the morphologies of nanoscale constituents and their interactions are critical to realize scalable high-performance nanocomposites using typical nanomaterial constituents having finite dimensions.

Catalytically Active Bacterial Nanocellulose-Based Ultrafiltration Membrane.

Large quantities of highly toxic organic dyes in industrial wastewater is a persistent challenge in wastewater treatment processes. Here, for highly efficient wastewater treatment, a novel membrane based on bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) loaded with graphene oxide (GO) and palladium (Pd) nanoparticles is demonstrated. This Pd/GO/BNC membrane is realized through the in situ incorporation of GO flakes into BNC matrix during its growth followed by the in situ formation of palladium nanoparticles. The Pd/GO/BNC membrane exhibits highly efficient methylene orange (MO) degradation during filtration (up to 99.3% over a wide range of MO concentrations, pH, and multiple cycles of reuse). Multiple contaminants (a cocktail of 4-nitrophenol, methylene blue, and rhodamine 6G) can also be effectively treated by Pd/GO/BNC membrane simultaneously during filtration. Furthermore, the Pd/GO/BNC membrane demonstrates stable flux (33.1 L m-2 h-1 ) under 58 psi over long duration. The novel and robust membrane demonstrated here is highly scalable and holds a great promise for wastewater treatment.

Influence of Surface Charge of the Nanostructures on the Biocatalytic Activity.

The physicochemical properties of abiotic nanostructures determine the structure and function of biological counterparts in biotic-abiotic nanohybrids. A comprehensive understanding of the interfacial interactions and the predictive capability of their structure and function is paramount for virtually all fields of bionanotechnology. In this study, using plasmonic nanostructures as a model abiotic system, we investigate the effect of the surface charge of nanostructures on the biocatalytic reaction kinetics of a bound enzyme. We found that the surface charge of nanostructures profoundly influences the structure, orientation, and activity of the bound enzyme. Furthermore, the interactions of the enzyme with nanoparticles result in stable conjugates that retain their functionality at elevated temperatures, unlike their free counterparts that lose their secondary structure and biocatalytic activity.

Structure-dependent SERS activity of plasmonic nanorattles with built-in electromagnetic hotspots.

Hollow plasmonic nanostructures with built-in and accessible electromagnetic hotspots such as nanorattles, obtained through a galvanic replacement reaction, have received wide attention in chemical and biological sensing and targeted drug delivery. In this study, we investigate the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of plasmonic nanorattles obtained through different degrees of galvanic replacement of Au@Ag nanocubes. We found that the SERS efficacy of the nanorattles is governed by the plasmon extinction intensity, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelength of the nanostructures with respect to the excitation source and intensity of the electromagnetic field at the hotspot, with the latter playing a determining role. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations showed excellent agreement with the experimental findings that an optimal degree of galvanic replacement is critical for maximum SERS enhancement. The rational design and synthesis of the plasmonic nanorattles based on these findings can make these nanostructures highly attractive for SERS-based chemical and biological sensing and bioimaging.

Plasmonic Biofoam: A Versatile Optically Active Material.

Owing to their ability to confine and manipulate light at the nanoscale, plasmonic nanostructures are highly attractive for a broad range of applications. While tremendous progress has been made in the synthesis of size- and shape-controlled plasmonic nanostructures, their integration with other materials and application in solid-state is primarily through their assembly on rigid two-dimensional (2D) substrates, which limits the plasmonically active space to a few nanometers above the substrate. In this work, we demonstrate a simple method to create plasmonically active three-dimensional biofoams by integrating plasmonic nanostructures with highly porous biomaterial aerogels. We demonstrate that plasmonic biofoam is a versatile optically active platform that can be harnessed for numerous applications including (i) ultrasensitive chemical detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering; (ii) highly efficient energy harvesting and steam generation through plasmonic photothermal heating; and (iii) optical control of enzymatic activity by triggered release of biomolecules encapsulated within the aerogel. Our results demonstrate that 3D plasmonic biofoam exhibits significantly higher sensing, photothermal, and loading efficiency compared to conventional 2D counterparts. The design principles and processing methodology of plasmonic aerogels demonstrated here can be broadly applied in the fabrication of other functional foams.

Kinetics of pulmonary immune cells, antibody responses and their correlations with the viral clearance of influenza A fatal infection in mice.

Fatal influenza A virus infection is a major threat to public health throughout the world. Lung macrophages and neutrophils have critical roles for both the pathogenesis and viral clearance of fatal viral infections. These are complicated by the interaction of innate immunity and adaptive immunity against viral infection. In this study, we investigated the overall kinetics of lung macrophages, neutrophils, CD4⁺T cells, CD8⁺T cells, CD38⁺ cells, and CD138⁺ cells, the levels of antibody and cytokine responses, both in the early and late phases of fatal infection with A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus in mice. The changes in lung viral load were also evaluated. We found that pulmonary macrophages and neutrophils both accumulated in the early and late phases of fatal infections and they positively correlated with the lung and serum antibody titers, and negatively correlated with the viral load locally. The secretion of IL-6 might relate to high numbers of macrophages and neutrophils in the early infection. The work implies that pulmonary macrophages, neutrophils and the antibody response all have an essential role in virus elimination of fatal influenza A viral infection. These findings may have implications for the development of prophylactic and therapeutic strategies in fatal influenza A viral infection. Further evaluation of the cooperation among macrophages, neutrophils and antibody responses in eliminating the virus with fatal infection is needed.

Pulmonary immune responses to 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus in mice.

BACKGROUND: Well-characterized mice models will afford a cheaper, easy-handling opportunity for a more comprehensive understanding of 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus's pathogenesis potential. We aimed to provide a robust description of pulmonary immune responses in the mice infected by the virus. METHODS: BALB/c mice were inoculated intranasally with A/Beijing/501/2009(H1N1) (BJ501) and A/PR/8/34(H1N1) (PR8) viruses and compared for survival rate, viral replication, and kinetics of pulmonary immune responses. RESULTS: BJ501 virus replicated less efficiently in the lungs than PR8, and both caused lethal illness in the mice. The transient increases of pulmonary TNF-α 2 days post infection for BJ501 and of INF-γ and IL-10 at 6 days post infection for PR8 were observed. IL-2+ and IL-4+ secreting cells showed significant increase 12 days post infection, while IFN-γ+, IgG+ and IgA+ secreting cells increased 6 days post infection. The different patterns of pulmonary immunological parameters between two viruses were at most seen in IL-6, IL-17 secretion and IgG1/IgG2a ratio. CONCLUSIONS: The BALB/c mouse is evaluated as a good pathogenic model for studying BJ501 2009 H1N1 virus. The work provided some basic and detailed data, which might be referred when further evaluating innate and adapted pulmonary immune responses and local viral load in mice.

Neutrophil­to­lymphocyte ratio reflects lung injury in thoracic radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors combination therapy with different sequences.

The combination of thoracic radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has emerged as a novel treatment approach for malignant tumors. However, it is important to consider the potential exacerbation of lung injury associated with this treatment modality. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory marker, holds promise as a non-invasive indicator for assessing the toxicity of this combination therapy. To investigate this further, a study involving 80 patients who underwent thoracic radiotherapy in conjunction with ICIs was conducted. These patients were divided into two groups: The concurrent therapy group and the sequential therapy group. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to ascertain risk factors for grade ≥2 pneumonitis. Following propensity score matching, the NLR values were examined between the concurrent group and the sequential group to evaluate any disparity. A mouse model of radiation pneumonitis was established, and ICIs were administered at varying time points. The morphological evaluation of lung injury was conducted using H&E staining, while the NLR values of peripheral blood were detected through flow cytometry. Logistic regression analysis revealed that radiation dosimetric parameters (mean lung dose, total dose and V20), the inflammatory index NLR at the onset of pneumonitis, and treatment sequences (concurrent or sequential) were identified as independent predictors of grade ≥2 treatment-related pneumonitis. The results of the morphological evaluation indicated that the severity of lung tissue injury was greater in cases where programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade was administered during thoracic radiotherapy, compared with cases where PD-1 blockade was administered 14 days after radiotherapy. Moreover, the present study demonstrated that the non-invasive indicator known as the NLR has the potential to accurately reflect the aforementioned injury.

Enriched environment ameliorates fear memory impairments induced by sleep deprivation via inhibiting PIEZO1/calpain/autophagy signaling pathway in the basal forebrain.

AIMS: To verify the hypothesis that an enriched environment (EE) alleviates sleep deprivation-induced fear memory impairment by modulating the basal forebrain (BF) PIEZO1/calpain/autophagy pathway. METHODS: Eight-week-old male mice were housed in a closed, isolated environment (CE) or an EE, before 6-h total sleep deprivation. Changes in fear memory after sleep deprivation were observed using an inhibitory avoidance test. Alterations in BF PIEZO1/calpain/autophagy signaling were detected. The PIEZO1 agonist Yoda1 or inhibitor GsMTx4, the calpain inhibitor PD151746, and the autophagy inducer rapamycin or inhibitor 3-MA were injected into the bilateral BF to investigate the pathways involved in the memory-maintaining role of EE in sleep-deprived mice. RESULTS: Mice housed in EE performed better than CE mice in short- and long-term fear memory tests after sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation resulted in increased PIEZO1 expression, full-length tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB-FL) degradation, and autophagy, as reflected by increased LC3 II/I ratio, enhanced p62 degradation, increased TFEB expression and nuclear translocation, and decreased TFEB phosphorylation. These molecular changes were partially reversed by EE treatment. Microinjection of Yoda1 or rapamycin into the bilateral basal forebrain induced excessive autophagy and eliminated the cognition-protective effects of EE. Bilateral basal forebrain microinjection of GsMTx4, PD151746, or 3-MA mimicked the cognitive protective and autophagy inhibitory effects of EE in sleep-deprived mice. CONCLUSIONS: EE combats sleep deprivation-induced fear memory impairments by inhibiting the BF PIEZO1/calpain/autophagy pathway.

A Flexible, Quantitative Plasmonic-Fluor Lateral Flow Assay for the Rapid Detection of Orthoebolavirus zairense and Orthoebolavirus sudanense.

Filoviruses comprise a family of single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses with a significant impact on human health. Given the risk for disease outbreaks, as highlighted by the recent outbreaks across Africa, there is an unmet need for flexible diagnostic technologies that can be deployed in resource-limited settings. Herein, we highlight the use of plasmonic-fluor lateral flow assays (PF-LFA) for the rapid, quantitative detection of an Ebolavirus-secreted glycoprotein, a marker for infection. Plasmonic fluors are a class of ultrabright reporter molecules that combine engineered nanorods with conventional fluorophores, resulting in improved analytical sensitivity. We have developed a PF-LFA for Orthoebolavirus zairense (EBOV) and Orthoebolavirus sudanense (SUDV) that provides estimated limits of detection as low as 0.446 and 0.641 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, our assay highlights a high degree of specificity between the two viral species while also maintaining a turnaround time as short as 30 min. To highlight the utility of our PF-LFA, we demonstrate the detection of EBOV infection in non-human primates. Our PF-LFA represents an enormous step forward in the development of a robust, field-deployable assay for filoviruses.

Preparation and Evaluation of Composite Hydrogel for Reducing the Leakage Rate of Lost Circulation.

Fractured reservoirs are widely distributed and rich in hydrocarbon resources. When encountering fractured reservoirs during the drilling process, it is often accompanied by formation losses characterized by high leak-off rates, causing severe damage to the reservoir and hindering the detection of oil and gas layers, which is not conducive to the accurate and efficient development of the reservoirs. Conventional plugging materials have poor retention effects in the fractures, resulting in the low stability of the sealing layer. The treatment of malignant lost circulation in fractured formations is an urgent problem to be solved in drilling engineering. This article focuses on improving the success rate of formation plugging through the combined use of multiple plugging materials and develops a composite hydrogel that can effectively reduce leakage rates. This hydrogel is mainly composed of materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, borax, and sodium silicate. It has good temperature resistance, maintains good gel strength at 60 °C, and can maintain long-term performance stability under simulated geological water conditions with salinity of 12,500 mg/L. For immersion corrosion by water or gasoline, the amount of corrosion is small and its fundamental performance remains largely unchanged. Through indoor simulation of a leak formation scenario, the hydrogel demonstrates commendable sealing pressure-bearing capacity. In terms of delaying fluid leakage, mixing the hydrogel with cement slurry at a ratio of 1:1 can delay the leakage rate of the cement slurry by a factor of 5.29.

Ultrasensitive lateral-flow assays via plasmonically active antibody-conjugated fluorescent nanoparticles.

Lateral-flow assays (LFAs) are rapid and inexpensive, yet they are nearly 1,000-fold less sensitive than laboratory-based tests. Here we show that plasmonically active antibody-conjugated fluorescent gold nanorods can make conventional LFAs ultrasensitive. With sample-to-answer times within 20 min, plasmonically enhanced LFAs read out via a standard benchtop fluorescence scanner attained about 30-fold improvements in dynamic range and in detection limits over 4-h-long gold-standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and achieved 95% clinical sensitivity and 100% specificity for antibodies in plasma and for antigens in nasopharyngeal swabs from individuals with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Comparable improvements in the assay's performance can also be achieved via an inexpensive portable scanner, as we show for the detection of interleukin-6 in human serum samples and of the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal samples. Plasmonically enhanced LFAs outperform standard laboratory tests in sensitivity, speed, dynamic range, ease of use and cost, and may provide advantages in point-of-care diagnostics.

The asymmetric and multi-scale volatility correlation between global oil price and economic policy uncertainty of China.

With the monthly data of WTI oil price and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) of China from January 2000 to August 2020, this paper detailedly investigates the asymmetric volatility correlations between two types of EPU of China and global oil price in different time scales. The empirical results demonstrate that the volatility correlation between EPU of China and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price is mainly reflected in the monetary policy uncertainty (MPU), while that of fiscal policy uncertainty (FPU) is much weaker. Specifically speaking, the volatility correlation between MPU of China and downward WTI oil price is significantly negative in the short-middle term (4-8 months) and changes to positive in the middle-long term (8-16 months), while that of upward WTI oil price is only significantly positive in the long term (16-32 months). Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the oil price-EPU correlation in China, and can be valuable guidance for diversified market participants such as government policy-makers and global investors.

Dopamine-derived nanoparticles for the protection of irradiation-induced intestinal injury by maintaining intestinal homeostasis.

Radiotherapy of abdominal and pelvic tumors almost inevitably injures the intestine by oxidative stress and causes inflammation. Regrettably, traditional radioprotective agents for irradiation (IR) induced intestinal injury suffer from challenges such as poor solubility, unsatisfactory bioactivity and undesired adverse reactions, which significantly limit their usefulness. Polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA-NPs) have shown promising potential in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and suppressing inflammation. In this study, PDA-NPs were prepared by a simple method and their physical properties were characterized. Mice received two doses of PDA-NPs by oral gavage 22 h apart, and were irradiated with X-rays 2 h after the last gavage. The protective effect of PDA-NPs and possible mechanisms of protection against IR-induced intestinal injury were explored. The results showed that PDA-NPs were spherical and well dispersed, with good shape uniformity, compact structure, good colloid dispersion stability, concentration-dependent light absorption, and accurate quantification. Importantly, PDA-NPs reduced mortality and prolonged the average survival time of mice after IR. Furthermore, PDA-NPs protected mice from IR-induced injury to crypt-villus units and maintained intestinal barrier function in the intestine. In particular, PDA-NPs significantly inhibited the depletion of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and promoted cell regeneration after IR, which indicated that the regeneration ability of ISCs was maintained and the repair of intestinal structure and function was promoted. Finally, PDA-NPs significantly suppressed the apoptosis, inflammatory pyroptosis and DNA damage of intestinal cells induced by ionizing radiation. Altogether, our study suggested that PDA-NPs may have great potential in protecting the intestines from ionizing radiation damage.

Dimethyl Sulfoxide Attenuates Radiation-Induced Testicular Injury through Facilitating DNA Double-Strand Break Repair.

The testis is susceptible to ionizing radiation, and male infertility and sexual dysfunction are prevalent problems after whole-body or local radiation exposure. Currently, there is no approved agent for the prevention or treatment of radiation-induced testicular injury. Herein, we investigated the radioprotective effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), an organosulfur compound that acts as a free radical scavenger, on testicular injury. Treatment of mice with a single dose of DMSO prior to 5 Gy irradiation restored sex hormones and attenuated the reduction in testis weight. Histological analyses revealed that DMSO alleviated the distorted architecture of seminiferous tubules and promoted seminiferous epithelium regeneration following irradiation. Moreover, DMSO provided quantitative and qualitative protection for sperm and preserved spermatogenesis and fertility in male mice. Mechanistically, DMSO treatment enhanced GFRα-1+ spermatogonial stem cell and c-Kit+ spermatogonial survival and regeneration after radiation. DMSO also alleviated radiation-induced oxidative stress and suppressed radiation-induced germ cell apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, DMSO efficiently reduced DNA damage accumulation and induced the expression of phosph-BRCA1, BRCA1, and RAD51 proteins, indicating that DMSO facilitates DNA damage repair with a bias toward homologous recombination. In summary, our findings demonstrate the radioprotective efficacy of DMSO on the male reproductive system, which warrants further studies for future application in the preservation of male fertility during conventional radiotherapy and nuclear accidents.