<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Thanks Dirk and Hi Jade,<div><br></div><div>You have a tricky issue here. If your amphibians have never been in contact with formalin but you want to give them a zap of fixative, that I can understand. The pseudo-fixation of alcohol alone is reversible and tissues can start to decay once the concentration of alcohol gets down to c. 30%. I would suggest trying one less valuable and flabby specimen first and take it down to water, then fix and inject with formalin as per normal and then take it back up the alcohol dehydration ladder, (normally 2 hours per 10% of alcohol) until you reach your normal preservation strength. The formalin will halt the deterioration of any tissues that are starting to decay but whether the same carbonium ion reaction will take place in a specimen that has already been in alcohol for a long time, is purely theoretical - hence the need to try with one specimen.</div><div><br></div><div>Ward’s solution is new to me and I checked their website but typically there is no suggestion of what is in it! I notice that it’s used for insect specimens so it should contain alcohol but any knowledge as to its formulae would be useful.</div><div><br></div><div>As to Resistall: there is an acidic process apparently used in its manufacture and which can manifest itself (as Dirk suggested) if you use a large amount in a small container (likely?) However, it is a good labelling medium and I used to keep some in a jar of alcohol, then take out a sheet or 2 prior to use and let it dry out between blotters in a small field herbarium press. Bit time consuming but it did work. The pH shift in the jar where the paper was stored did drop slightly over time but not enough to worry about (down to 5). Specimens are often stored and will tolerate, slightly lower pH levels providing these don’t fall below 4.5 when decalcification of skeletons will start! Generally I used Goatskin Parchment paper from Arjo Wiggins as this had no pH issues at all, lasted for ‘ever’ and had no ink smudging issues.</div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">With all good wishes, Simon.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR<br>Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian,<br><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.natural-2Dhistory-2Dconservation.com&d=AwMF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=GYMMiTiLiSqw-jxMZTsbW0qvbuDI8WtdgVMmFHyrHf0&s=dQRqJ2quULCg8kA0uQYpyfgcc0FqCTpvet3EKXBQoEg&e=">www.natural-history-conservation.com</a> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;"><br><br><br></div></div></div>
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<br><div><div>On 10 Sep 2015, at 07:51, Dirk Neumann <<a href="mailto:dirk.neumann@zsm.mwn.de">dirk.neumann@zsm.mwn.de</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Dear Jade,<br>
<br>
personally, I would refrain from injecting water-based, acidic
formaldehyde solution to a specimens sitting in diluted ethanol.
Especially if the specimen was weakly ethanol "fixed" in the
beginning, you can't really re-fixate it by exposing it to
formalin. The formaldehyde can, if at all, only preserve the
current condition, but not improve it. Second, you might add a lot
of osmotic issues, which could (further) damage the specimen (not
to mention pH issues).<br>
<br>
I would try to determine the current concentration of your holding
fluid and would move the specimen(s) through an rising alcohol
ladder (normally 20/40/60/75%). Depending on the condition of the
specimen, it might be good to inject carefully a little bit
ethanol inside the body cavity of specimens to support this
process (not into tissues).<br>
<br>
For any further questions centred around fluid collections, I
strongly recommend John E. Simmons (2014) brilliant and exhaustive
"Fluid Preservation - a comprehensive reference" (ISBN
9781442229655). Comprehensive is an understatement. It's <i>THE
REFERENCE</i> combining knowledge since the early days of fluid
preservation. If "revamping" means a taking conservative measures
on a larger collection, this book might be a very valuable
reference during this work. <br>
<br>
Regarding the paper: the potential pH shift is correlated with the
fluid amount inside containers; the same paper might give a strong
pH shift in a small specimen jar (< 50 ml total volume), while
in a 1000 l jar the shift might be negligible. In general, also in
"normal paper" you may have up to 30 different chemicals added
during production that are trapped inside the paper. A possible
alternative would be usage of certified archival paper. However,
before you shift to another label, you should test if your
printing method works with the new printing medium - not all
combinations of "paper" & "printer" produce durable labels.<br>
<br>
Hope this helps<br>
Dirk <br>
<i></i><br>
<br>
Am 10.09.2015 um 03:32 schrieb Jade Keehn:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:CAFMpTtyJ1PL=gs70NQsMULPfNMWrnB4A9FJP0Agz3gpwpg7i4Q@mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
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<div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif">Greetings,<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">This
year, our department is working to revamp a historic fish
and herp collection in various states of disrepair. We
have been diligently sifting through the curatorial
literature to prepare for this process; however, there are
a few things we could use some advice on. Hopefully, there
are a few knowledgeable wet collection curators who can
answer some questions before we begin our assessment and
treatment of this valuable collection.<br>
<br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif">Our first question regards refixing museum
specimens. A number of amphibs are in rather "soggy"
condition and we are considering injecting them with 10%
formalin before returning them to ethanol solution. This
'refixing' process was mentioned in a 1978 ASIH museum
practices document, but we haven't seen it discussed in
anything more recent. Are there any potential
disadvantages to refixing specimens to improve specimen
quality/ longevity?<br>
<br>
<span style="line-height:107%">The herpetological
collection is currently labeled using Resistall paper.
The literature indicates that this paper type may result
in an acidic/damaging pH. Is there another labeling
paper that is recommended for use? <br>
<br>
</span></span></font></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">A
number of specimens have been preserved using Ward's
solution. Are there any potential concerns or
treatment procedures needed before transferring these
specimens into ethanol (75%)? Secondly, is there any
reason to worry about the condition of cleared and
stained specimens, assuming they are still submerged
in fluid?<br>
<br>
</span></font></span></span></div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif"><span style="line-height:107%">Thanks in
advance for the advice!<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</span></span></font></div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif"><span style="line-height:107%">Jade Keehn and
James Simmons<br>
</span></span></font></div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif"><span style="line-height:107%">Assistant
Museum Curators<br>
</span></span></font></div>
<div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new
roman,serif"><span style="line-height:107%">Museum of
Natural History<br>
</span></span></font></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:times new roman,serif">University
of Nevada, Reno</span><br>
</font></span></span></div>
</div>
<br>
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