<div dir="ltr">Dear Simon, The idea behind using quality gaskets (N-Buna rubber) in the first place, is to avoid the catastrophic evaporation you describe. I have found that these gaskets need to be changed out every 5-10 years. <div><br></div><div>However, despite precautions, yes, one should be aware of potential problems occurring (like detritus under the gasket so a seal is not formed, etc.) and take precautions. However, I have not found the upside-down vial to be particularly advantageous and, since it is necessary to annually inspect the fluid collections for evaporation problems anyway, catching any problems before a complete drying occurs is part of my responsibility. </div><div><br></div><div>I recognize that larger collections may not be able to annually inspect their collections but my contention here is to use good products-to start with-and good conservation practice regardless of a collections manager's inspection protocol.</div><div><br></div><div>Sincerely, Lex Snyder</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 12:04 PM, Simon Moore <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:couteaufin@btinternet.com" target="_blank">couteaufin@btinternet.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">I am just going to add my pennyworth but relating to tubes 'right' way up or upside down? I have noted both from the pics that have been circulating.<div><br><div>I don’t wish to start a huge debate on this but I have always favoured the upside down. Reason is that as the alcohol (presumed) level slowly falls over time then the levels in the tubes tends to follow a bit behind the jar level if they’re right way up but if they’re upside down then they stay full until the jar is empty. OK then they drain off fairly rapidly BUT presuming that someone finds them in time then all they have to do is fill up the jar (for upside-downers) if there is still a bit of alcohol left in the bottom, but if the tubes are part-empty (right way up) then each tube has to be re-filled, bearing in mind that the contents have also auto-diluted to a lower percentage. </div><div><br></div><div>So there we are!</div><div><br><div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">With all good wishes, Simon.</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">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=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=PgqeXUnle2KPggAYgqdLuN37opLX5OYV75xpVLfU3aw&s=62UmdUMBO7HZUw9XTJOJ7bEVv9DMuJgjEkdyN47fpxE&e=" target="_blank">www.natural-history-conservation.com</a> </div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><br><br><br></div></div></div>
</div>
<br><div><div>On 16 Mar 2016, at 15:11, Alexandra Snyder <<a href="mailto:amsnyder@unm.edu" target="_blank">amsnyder@unm.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px">These vial jar systems work for accessing individual collections (up to 40) only if each jar is assigned a<span> </span><u>unique number.</u> In the MSB fishes database, each cataloged collection that is in a vial jar is assigned an alphanumeric, up to 40 individuals per jar. (I have an automatic numbering system built into my cataloging program that tracks the vial jar numbers so that there are no duplications for collections in 70% ethanol. The collections maintained in 5% buffered formalin and 95% ethanol are manually assigned vial jar numbers.) The attached picture shows individual vial jars labeled with unique vial jar numbers. </span><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px">Regarding the comment that to look for a single collection in a vial jar is cumbersome and requires going to the fumehood I disagree with this being an issue. Anytime we pull a single collection from a vial jar, we do not do that in the collection room but rather in the lab with a specimen tray and forceps. Opening collections in the collection room (ours is strictly for archives, not for specimen examination) runs the risk of losing small specimens as well as mishaps with glass jars and alcohol.</span><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px">Extremely small larvae are double vialed. Contained in many of our 8 dram vials in the system are .25 and 1 dram vials holding protolarval forms. Small wads of cotton do not seem to interfere with these samples.</span><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px">Again, I have used this system for many years and found that the trade off between access and long-term conservation is not hard. The student curatorial assistants have pulled many of these collections for loans, researchers , etc. and have not found the system to be a burden. </span><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><br style="color:rgb(33,33,33);font-size:13.3333px"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12px">*************************************</span><br></div><div><div style="font-size:12pt;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><div name="divtagdefaultwrapper" style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px"><div style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px"><div style="font-size:13px"><div><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12px"><font color="#808080">Alexandra M Snyder,<span> </span></font></span><span style="color:rgb(128,128,128);font-size:12px">Collections Manager-Fishes</span></font></div><div><font size="3" color="#808080" face="Times New Roman">Museum of Southwestern Biology MSC03-2020</font></div><div><font size="3" color="#808080" face="Times New Roman">University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131</font></div><div><font color="#808080"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">PH./FAX <a href="tel:505.277.6005" value="+15052776005" target="_blank">505.277.6005</a> <span> </span><a href="mailto:amsnyder@unm.edu" target="_blank">amsnyder@unm.edu</a></font></font></div><div><font color="#808080"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><br></font></font></div><div><font color="#808080"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">PHYSICAL ADDRESS FOR FEDEX/UPS</font></font></div><div><font color="#808080"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Bldg.83 Room 204</font></font></div><div><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12px;color:rgb(128,128,128)">302 Yale Blvd NE</span><br></div><div><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12px;color:rgb(128,128,128)"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12px;color:rgb(128,128,128)"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12px;color:rgb(128,128,128)"><br></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span><DSCN6930.JPG></span>_______________________________________________<br>Nhcoll-l mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br><a href="http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l" target="_blank">http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><br><br>_______________________________________________<span> </span><br>NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br>Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br>mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br>natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br>society. See<span> </span><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.spnhc.org_&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=PgqeXUnle2KPggAYgqdLuN37opLX5OYV75xpVLfU3aw&s=3nQb-2hsckcT03tHr1x8CWVJVsVjzu7Sc0U8O5XfTqg&e=" target="_blank">http://www.spnhc.org</a><span> </span>for membership information.<br>Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.</div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>*****************************************************</div><div>Alexandra M Snyder</div><div>Collections Manager-Fishes<br></div>Museum of Southwestern Biology<div>MSC01-2020 </div><div><br></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(243,243,243)"><font color="#0000ff">Physical address for FedEx and UPS</font></span></div><div><font color="#0000ff">Bldg.83 Room 204, 302</font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)"> Yale Blvd NE</span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">University of New Mexico</span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Albuquerque NM 87131 USA</span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">PH.505.277.6005</span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__msb.unm.edu_&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=PgqeXUnle2KPggAYgqdLuN37opLX5OYV75xpVLfU3aw&s=vG_89Bw7KD8hlQyxUrBy1T_9PWRRK0Lj0VJpC0SyKGs&e=" target="_blank">http://msb.unm.edu/</a><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div></div></div></div></div>
</div>