Expanding the invertebrate medicine toolbox: evaluation of opisthosoma tonometry as a novel diagnostic tool for arachnids.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the use of rebound tonometry, as a noninvasive diagnostic tool, in arachnids.

Methods: 5 juvenile (yearling) female and 1 juvenile male curlyhair tarantulas (Tliltocatl albopilosus, previously Brachypelma albopilosum) were used to track estimated ventral opisthosoma pressures over a 9-month period of time. Younger, growing animals were selected as they are more likely than adults to go through multiple molts throughout the 9 months of the study length.

Presumed hemocytic neoplasms in scorpions.

Although neoplasia has been documented in invertebrates, it has not been reported in scorpions. This report describes presumed hemocytic neoplasia in 2 scorpions: a >3-year-old, female emperor scorpion ( and a >4-year-old, male, Asian forest scorpion ( sp.).

Electron affinities and lowest triplet and singlet state properties of -oligophenylenes ( = 3-5): theory and experiment.

We apply photodetachment-photoelectron spectroscopy to measure the electron affinities and the energetics of the lowest excited electronic states of the neutral molecules -terphenyl (p3P), -quaterphenyl (p4P) and -quinquephenyl (p5P), including especially the triplet states below S. The interpretation of the experimental data is based on the comparison to calculated 0-0 energies and Dyson norms, using density functional theory and multireference configuration interaction methods, as well as Franck-Condon patterns. The comparison between calculated and experimental vibrational fine-structures reveals a twisted benzoid-like molecular structure of the S ground state and nearly planar quinoid-like nuclear arrangements in the S and T excited states as well as in the D anion ground state.