Host genetics determine susceptibility to avian influenza infection and transmission dynamics

Host-genetic control of influenza virus infection has been the object of little attention. In this study we determined that two inbred lines of chicken differing in their genetic background, Lines 0 and C-B12, were respectively relatively resistant and susceptible to infection with the low pathogenicity influenza virus A/Turkey/England/647/77 as defined by substantial differences in viral shedding trajectories. Resistant birds, although infected, were unable to transmit virus to contact birds, as ultimately only the presence of a sustained cloacal shedding (and not oropharyngeal shedding) was critical for transmission. Restriction of within-bird transmission of virus occurred in the resistant line, with intra-nares or cloacal infection resulting in only local shedding and failing to transmit fully through the gastro-intestinal-pulmonary tract. Resistance to infection was independent of adaptive immune responses, including the expansion of specific IFNγ secreting cells or production of influenza-specific antibody. Genetic resistance to a novel H9N2 virus was less robust, though significant differences between host genotypes were still clearly evident. The existence of host-genetic determination of the outcome of influenza infection offers tools for the further dissection of this regulation and also for understanding the mechanisms of influenza transmission within and between birds

Form-stable benzoxazine-urethane alloys for thermally reversible light scattering materials

Thermally reversible light scattering (TRLS) materials based solely on benzoxazine-urethane (BA-a/PU) alloys were successfully fabricated and demonstrated in this work. The alloys displayed the opaque state below 40 °C. The alloys were transformed to the transparent state upon exposing to the transition temperature of 60–130 °C, depending on the molecular weights and mass concentrations of urethane prepolymers in the BA-a/PU alloys. The optical state transitions were reversible with small hystereses. BA-a/PU alloys exhibited a good optical contrast with 0%T at the light scattering state and almost 100%T at the transparent state. The alloys were glassy and form-stable up to 250 °C, due to the synergistic behavior in the glass transition temperatures. The reaction-induced phase separation effectuated by the incorporation of urethane prepolymer into thermosetting polybenzoxazine, the sizes and local concentrations of the phase-separated urethane microdomains in the supporting polybenzoxazine matrix, and the reversible dissolution and demixing of urethane microdomains and polybenzoxazine phase played crucial roles on TRLS properties of the developed benzoxazine-urethane alloys