William P. Norris

Pathology and familial incidence of orchitis and its relation to thyroiditis in a closed beagle colony

Abstract Lymphocytic orchitis occurs spontaneously in a closed colony of beagle dogs with an incidence of 32% among 69 untreated males over 1 year of age. This disease is genetically influenced as determined by an analysis of the ancestral composition of each animal. Orchitis is related in its occurrence to lymphocytic thyroiditis which has been previously described in this colony. The incidence of both diseases increases with increasing degrees of relatedness to three sibling progenitors of a partially inbred line which comprises a significant portion of the colony. Among the dogs that derived all of their genes from the three progenitors, 85% had lymphocytic thyroiditis and 65% had lymphocytic orchitis. The pathologic changes in the testes result in a significant reduction in testis size and weight as well as sterility or reduced fertility.

Sectioning of Undecalcified Bone; with Special Reference to Radioautographic Applications

A rapid technic for the preparation of 6 μ serial sections of undecalcified bone is described. The specimen is fixed and dehydrated in acetone and ether. It is then treated with a 1:1 mixture of the monomers of ethyl and n-butyl methacrylate catalyzed with benzoyl peroxide. The monomers are removed with ether and the ether is removed under vacuum. Infiltration is accomplished under vacuum using a partial polymer of the same mixture of monomers. Polymerization is completed in 36 hours under pressure at 50°C. The tissue is sectioned with a heavy-duty microtome, the sections are mounted on glass slides and nuclear emulsions applied. Young and adult bone of laboratory animals and man have been cut successfully. Microscopic structural detail is preserved and there is no evidence of translocation of the radioactivity.

Evaluating performance of law enforcement personnel during a stressful Training scenario

Abstract: Police trainees who were ready to graduate from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) volunteered to participate in an exercise designed to evaluate their survivability. In a highly stressful interactive scenario, which included a hostage situation, performance was evaluated for a range of responses, including: shooting judgment and accuracy, communications, and coping with a weapon malfunction. Nineteen percent of subjects shot the hostage, a failure rate that falls in the reported range of friendly fire casualties in military combat. The Spielberger Trait Anger Scale showed an association with shot placement and performance during the gunfight as well as with overall performance scores.

Influence of Lymphocytic Thyroiditis on Iodine Metabolism in the Beagle

Summary Tracer studies of thyroidal 131I metabolism were conducted in beagles some of which had lymphocytic thyroiditis. The percentage of each thyroid lobe represented as epithelium, colloid, and stroma, as well as the severity of the lesions, was determined by microscopic examination. The high level of iodide in the commercial diet fed resulted in low thyroidal 131I uptake values in all animals. Dogs with severe thyroiditis had biological half-times (BT 1/2) of 131I significantly shorter than dogs with mild or no lesions. The maximum thyroidal uptake of 131I was significantly lower and also occurred earlier in dogs with severe thyroiditis. Fourteen months after one thyroid lobe was removed the BT 1/2 of 131I was shortened compared to values obtained in the intact dog. There is little colloid in thyroid glands affected with severe lymphocytic thyroiditis; hemithyroidectomy also results in a reduction of the relative amount of colloid with a corresponding increase in the percentage of epithelium in the opposite lobe. Thus, the BT 1/2 of 131I in the thyroid gland appears to be related to the amount of follicular colloid. Lymphocytic thyroiditis in the dog can be diagnosed by tracer studies with 131I even when the dietary level of iodide is high.

Epoxy Resin Embedding in Contrast Radioautography of Bones and Teeth

Contrast, or low-resolution, radioautographs of teeth and large specimens of bone are made from plane, polished surfaces of such material embedded in plastic. The specimen is cut with a motor-driven circular saw, fixed, dehydrated, and defatted with anhydrous acetone and ether. It is then infiltrated with a mixture of epoxy resin and reactive hardener. The resin-infiltrated specimen is placed in an easily constructed mold of aluminum and Lucite. Polymerization is complete in 4-6 hr. The surface of the specimen is exposed by machining and/or abrading. The prepared surface is apposed to an X-ray type emulsion to produce a radioautograph. The resolution obtainable is estimated to be 100-200 β.

The Effect of BAL on Distribution and Metabolism of P32 and Sr90

Summary The effectiveness of 2,3-dimer-captopropanol (British anti-lewisite) in increasing the elimination of injected P32 and Sr90 in mice was investigated. It is concluded that BAL is essentially without effect although, in the case of P32, the rate of uptake in bone appears to be reduced during the first hour. No such differences could be demonstrated after 24 hours.