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Herein, a simple spraying method was applied to prepare a novel robust superhydrophobic coating containing fluorinated hyperbranched polyurethane (F-HPU) resin and lanthanum oxide (La 2 O 3 ). The composite coating had the maximum water contact angle (WCA) of 157°a nd low sliding angle (SA) of 5.5°when the content of La 2 O 3 was 17%. Moreover, the composite coating can resist abrasion with sand paper for 80 cycles, which might be the reason that La 2 O 3 particles adhered strongly on the substrate by the F-HPU resin with strong adhesion. Furthermore, the novel robust superhydrophobic coating can be applied in various substrates, resist water stream impact, and remain clean after being fouled by contamination in air and oil. Accordingly, the novel robust superhydrophobic coating has potential application in protection-needed materials. Meanwhile, we also provide a new application field for rare earth metal oxides and an alternative strategy for robust self-cleaning coatings.

Flavonols are important copigments that affect flower petal coloration. Flavonol synthase (FLS) catalyzes the conversion of dihydroflavonols to flavonols. In this study, we identified a FLS gene, MaFLS, expressed in petals of the ornamental monocot Muscari aucheri (grape hyacinth) and analyzed its spatial and temporal expression patterns. qRT-PCR analysis showed that MaFLS was predominantly expressed in the early stages of flower development. We next analyzed the in planta functions of MaFLS. Heterologous expression of MaFLS in Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) resulted in a reduction in pigmentation in the petals, substantially inhibiting the expression of endogenous tobacco genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis (i.e., NtDFR, NtANS, and NtAN2) and upregulating the expression of NtFLS. The total anthocyanin content in the petals of the transformed tobacco plants was dramatically reduced, whereas the total flavonol content was increased. Our study suggests that MaFLS plays a key role in flavonol biosynthesis and flower coloration in grape hyacinth. Moreover, MaFLS may represent a new potential gene for molecular breeding of flower color modification and provide a basis for analyzing the effects of copigmentation on flower coloration in grape hyacinth.

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This paper studies how modern human capital emerged in early 20th century China. We document a novel historical episode known as the ‘Temple Destruction Movement’ (TDM), in which Chinese local governments appropriated huge amounts of Buddhist and Taoist temple assets to support the modernization of local schooling. We find that before the TDM, the initial stock of temple assets was uncorrelated with the levels and trends of human capital development; after the TDM was intensified, regions with higher initial stocks of temple assets suddenly constructed more modern schools, enrolled more students in modern educational programmes, and produced more modern elites. A back of the envelope calculation suggests that the TDM could account for nearly 70% of China's modern school construction in the early 20th century, which is consistent with historical records collected from numerous county gazetteers. Further analysis shows that the TDM was most effective in the presence of both a strong government and a powerful civil society, as the former made it easier to appropriate assets from the religious sector, while the latter helped to prevent the confiscated religious assets from being captured by local officials.