Discospondylitis in a yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes).

A 1-year-old female yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) was diagnosed with chronic discospondylitis on the basis of clinical signs and results of hematologic tests, radiography, and computed tomography. Despite significant destruction of the affected vertebral bodies and gross malformation of the spine, neurologic function was unaffected. Treatment with antibiotics, antifungals, and swimming physiotherapy was attempted, but the bird died after 40 days of hospitalization. Histopathologic lesions observed at necropsy were severe chronic discospondylitis, chronic granulomatous tracheitis, proventricular ulceration, and adrenal hemorrhage. The suspected inciting cause of the discospondylitis was a reported population-wide oral stomatitis that affects yellow-eyed penguin chicks.

Generalized calcinosis cutis associated with probable leptospirosis in a dog.

A 6.5-year-old male German Shepherd acutely developed renal and hepatic disease. Serology revealed high concentrations of antibodies against Leptospira copenhageni, and a presumptive diagnosis of leptospirosis was made. The dog was successfully treated with antibiotics and supportive care over a 12-day period. Sixty-two days after the initial presentation, alopecia predominantly involving the dorsum and perineal areas developed. The skin lesions expanded over a 20-day period. Histology revealed generalized calcinosis cutis with follicular atrophy. An injection of 0.01 mg kg-1 dexamethasone suppressed serum cortisol concentrations. No treatment was given and lesions resolved over the following 30 days. This is the third case of generalized calcinosis cutis that has developed in an adult dog after severe systemic disease. Both previous cases developed calcinosis cutis in association with blastomycosis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of generalized calcinosis cutis in an adult dog in association with a presumptive bacterial infection.

Interpersonal Information Acquisition and Confidence in First Encounters.

This experiment tested the hypothesis that people's social difficulties in an initial interaction are lowered by instructions to `find out as much as you can about the other person. " Sixty-four pairs of strangers interacted after one of them had been told to learn as much as possible about the other person or had not received information-seeking instructions. As predicted, directing subjects to seek inter-personal information reduced apprehension, insecurity, and awkwardness, not only for the subjects who received the instructions but also for their partners. The instructions also affected subjects' perceptions of their conversation partners. However, few obvious behavioral effects of the manipulation were obtained. The data suggest that the provision of an information-seeking script is sufficient to reduce social concerns, independent of its effects on social behavior or information exchange.