Hong Kong Polytechnic University

FramePoison: attacks on medical RAG that target framing, not just facts

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is increasingly used in high-stakes domains like medicine, where answers are grounded in retrieved literature and can shape clinical understanding. This opens a new attack surface: an adversary can shape model outputs by injecting a few docume...

Textual symbol of urban spatial differentiation: An empirical analysis on nomenclature of tea restaurants in Hong Kong

Spatial differentiation has long been a focus of scholars and policymakers due to its significant implications in urban planning and public administration. Existing research has approached this theme through structural, functional, and symbolic strands, yet the use of cultural ma...

Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Prevention and Management of Dry Eye Disease: A Systematic Review, Network Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Randomized Controlled Trials

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent ocular surface disorder with diverse clinical presentations, yet the comparative efficacy of various Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulations remains unclear. This systematic review and network meta-analysis evaluated the comparative ef...

Predicting the post-fire load-bearing capacity of slab-column structures based on a physics-embedded deep learning algorithm

While reinforced concrete slab-column structures have been widely adopted in practical buildings, this type of structure is vulnerable to brittle punching shear failure under fire. Predicting the post-fire structural capacity is of great importance to accelerate the post-fire ret...

Anthropogenic aerosol reduction contributes to faster flash drought onset in a changing climate

Flash droughts have emerged as severe hazards, posing growing challenges to natural and socioeconomic systems, yet the influence of recent aerosol reductions on their onset remains unclear. Here, we investigate the impacts of aerosols and their underlying mechanisms using multi-s...

Prospects and complexities in sustainability impacts of global residue-based bioenergy deployment

Amid rising global demand for sustainable energy, agricultural and forestry residues (AFRs) emerge as a key yet underutilized resource in energy transition. Mechanisms of how optimizing multipath AFR utilization advances sustainability contributions in varied socioeconomic contex...

Gradual Concentration‐Regulated Entanglement Enables Tough and Strong Sustainable Bioplastics

ABSTRACT Regulating polymer‐chain entanglement provides a powerful route to high‐performance sustainable bioplastics. However, achieving dense entanglement in ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polymers remains difficult because long chain lengths and strong intramolecular interactions s...

Marginalization of Maltreatment of Family Caregivers of Older People in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Epistemic Injustice?

This theoretical paper interrogates aging and caregiving, focusing on the abuse of caregivers of older people in Sub-Saharan Africa, through the lenses of Epistemic Injustice, Social Identity, and Feminist Theories. Epistemic Injustice shows how societal structures silence caregi...

Consumption value in GenAI travel photography: a mixed-methods study from an affordance–constraint perspective

Purpose This study develops an affordance–constraint–value framework to explain how GenAI travel photography shapes consumption value and behavioral intentions. It aims to examine how perceived affordances and constraints relate to functional, emotional and social value, and how...

The epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) in the female reproductive system: functions and regulatory factors

Accumulated studies have shown that the epithelial Na⁺ channel (ENaC), a major Na⁺ channel for electrolyte and water homeostasis, is expressed in the female reproductive system and required for multiple key reproductive events. In tight epithelium of the uterus and cervix, hormon...

Effects of core stability training on lower-limb performance in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Core stability training (CST) is widely used in athletic conditioning, but evidence for its effects on lower-limb performance remains inconsistent across performance domains and assessment methods. This review evaluated the effects of CST on lower-limb performance in athletes. Th...

Additive manufacturing of heterostructured metallic materials: Processing, microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties, and service performance

Developing high-performance metallic materials with excellent mechanical properties and reliable service performance is an everlasting objective of materials research. The perspective on heterostructured materials with dramatic differences in compositions and structures, in conju...

Robotic Hand‐Arm Coordinated Skill Learning for Tool Manipulation Tasks

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the specific scenario of tool manipulation and presents a novel framework enabling robots to acquire tool manipulation skills through learning from human demonstrations. While there have been numerous studies on robotic manipulation skill learning,...

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the ASCOT-SCT4 in Hong Kong: a validation study using classical test theory and Rasch analysis

Abstract Background Hong Kong’s rapid population ageing increases demand for long-term care (LTC) and places pressure on public expenditure. The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit Four-level Self-Completion Tool (ASCOT-SCT4) is a preference-based instrument specifically developed...

Growing a new profession: evaluating occupational therapy education in Mongolia

Mongolia’s healthcare system is experiencing growing demand for rehabilitation services, yet occupational therapy (OT) education programs in the country have rarely been formally evaluated. The undergraduate OT program at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNU...

Gratitude to nature, environmental stewardship, and well-being in 10 countries

Abstract People may feel grateful to nature for its provisions, as both anecdotal accounts and emerging research evidence suggest. The present study further explores this experience—referred to as gratitude to nature—by examining its relationships with other nature-related constr...

Life history strategy and the Dark Triad: A meta-analysis of trait-specific associations

Life History (LH) Theory has been increasingly employed as an evolutionary framework for understanding individual differences in the Dark Triad. However, findings remain inconsistent regarding trait-specific associations between LH strategy and the Dark Triad. This meta-analysis...

Spatially Validated Machine Learning Flood Susceptibility Assessment in the Volta River Basin Using Extreme Rainfall and Multi-Source Geospatial Data

Flood susceptibility mapping in large transboundary basins is often constrained by sparse observations, heterogeneous environmental conditions, and validation strategies that overstate model skill when spatial dependence is ignored. This study develops a machine learning framewor...

Decentralized Solar-Driven Plant Factories Secure an Adequate Global Vegetable Supply beyond the Electricity Grid and Water Limitations

Abstract Conventional open-field vegetable production is increasingly constrained by climate volatility and natural resource endowments, creating supply instabilities and shortages that threaten global food resilience and human health. Here, we integrate solar photovoltaics and a...

Methodological quality of systematic reviews on treatments in stroke rehabilitation: A cross‐sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Although high-quality systematic reviews (SRs) could provide reliable evidence on the effectiveness of stroke rehabilitation treatments, methodological flaws may weaken their trustworthiness. This study aimed to evaluate the methodological quality of an up-to-date samp...