Garlic is a vital food and medicinal plant, but its bulbs are highly prone to sprouting, decay, and nutrient loss during storage, leading to up to 40% postharvest waste. 

Flowering is a key developmental milestone for plants, directly influencing reproduction and ornamental value. 

Global warming poses a growing threat to human health and work performance. Currently, about 3.6 billion people worldwide live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. From 2000 to 2019, more than 480,000 heat-related deaths occurred globally each year. Extreme heat also impairs focus and productivity and worsens mood by elevating stress hormones and disrupting sleep. In response to the increasing frequency of heat waves, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) scholars are developing next-generation personal cooling solutions that push the limits of conventional clothing and promote sustainability.

Flowering plants are masters at producing terpenes, the largest and most structurally diverse group of natural compounds, which influence everything from floral scent and fruit flavor to defense against pests and pathogens.

Microbial communities in soil are not static; they respond rhythmically to daily cycles of light and dark.

Radiative cooling is a passive thermal management strategy that leverages the natural ability of materials to dissipate heat through infrared radiation. It has significant implications for energy efficiency, climate adaptation, and sustainable technology development, with applications in personal thermal management, building temperature regulation, and aerospace engineering. However, radiative cooling performance is susceptible to environmental aging and special environmental conditions, limiting its applicability in extreme environments. Herein, a critical review of extreme environmental radiative cooling is presented, focusing on enhancing environmental durability and cooling efficiency. This review first introduces the design principles of heat exchange channels, which are tailored based on the thermal flow equilibrium to optimize radiative cooling capacity in various extreme environments. Subsequently, recent advancements in radiative cooling materials and micro-nano structures that align with these principles are systematically discussed, with a focus on their implementation in terrestrial dwelling environments, terrestrial extreme environments, aeronautical environments, and space environments. Moreover, this review evaluates the cooling effects and anti-environmental abilities of extreme radiative cooling devices. Lastly, key challenges hindering the development of radiative cooling devices for extreme environmental applications are outlined, and potential strategies to overcome these limitations are proposed, aiming to prompt their future commercialization.

Rechargeable aqueous metal-ion batteries are promising alternative energy storage devices in the post-lithium-ion era due to their inherent safety and environmental compatibility. Among them, aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) stand out as next-generation energy storage systems, offering low cost, high safety, and eco-friendliness. Nevertheless, the instability of Zn metal anodes, manifested as Zn dendrite growth, interfacial side reactions, and hydrogen (H₂) evolution, remains a major obstacle to commercialization. To address these challenges, extensive research has been conducted to understand and mitigate these issues. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in Zn anode stabilization strategies, including artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers, structural optimization, electrolyte modification, and bioinspired designs. These approaches collectively aim to achieve uniform Zn deposition, suppress parasitic reactions, and enhance cycling stability. Furthermore, it critically evaluates the advantages and feasibility of different strategies, discuss potential synergistic effects of multi-strategy integration, and provide perspectives for future research directions.

Symmetric solid oxide fuel cells (SSOFCs) have emerged as promising energy conversion devices due to their low fabrication cost and outstanding durability. Ammonia (NH₃), a carbon‑free hydrogen carrier with high energy density and ease of storage, serves as an ideal fuel for such systems. In this study, a bifunctional electrode material, Pr_0.32Sr_0.48Fe_0.75Ni_0.2Ru_0.05O_3-δ (PSFNRu), is synthesized by doping 5 mol% Ru into the parent perovskite Pr_0.32Sr_0.48Fe_0.8Ni_0.2O_3-δ (PSFN). The resulting PSFNRu exhibits abundant oxygen vacancies and enables the in‑situ exsolution of alloy nanoparticles (ANPs) under reducing conditions, which act as additional active sites to enhance electrochemical performance. The PSFNRu‑based SSOFC delivers peak power densities of 736 mW cm^-2 with H₂ and 547 mW cm^-2 with NH₃ at 800 °C, significantly outperforming its undoped counterpart. Furthermore, the cell maintains stable performance for over 172 h at 700 °C under NH₃ fuel, confirming excellent operational durability. These findings underscore the potential of PSFNRu as a high‑performance symmetric electrode for direct ammonia SSOFCs (DA‑SSOFCs).