Search Results (16)

Collecting is a form of leisure, and even a passion, consisting of collecting, preserving and displaying objects. When we look for its origin in the literature, we are taken back to “the appearance of writing and the fixing of knowledge”, specifically with the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (7th century BC, Mesopotamia), and his fondness for collecting books, which in his case were in the form of clay tablets. This is not, however, a true reflection, for we have evidence of much earlier collectors. The curiosity and interest in keeping stones or fossils of different colors and shapes, as manuports, is as old as we are. For decades we have had evidence of objects of no utilitarian value in Neanderthal homes. Several European sites have shown that these Neanderthal groups treasured objects that attracted their attention. On some occasions, these objects may have been modified to make a personal ornament and may even have been integrated into subsistence activities such as grinders or hammers. Normally, one or two such specimens are found but, to date, no Neanderthal cave or camp has yielded as many as the N4 level of Prado Vargas Cave. In the N4 Mousterian level of Prado Vargas, 15 specimens of Upper Cretaceous marine fossils belonging to the Gryphaeidae, Pectinidae, Cardiidae, Pholadomyidae, Pleurotomariidae, Tylostomatidae and Diplopodiidae families were found in the context of clay and autochthonous cave sediments. During MIS 3, a group of Neanderthals transported at least fifteen marine fossils, which were collected from various Cretaceous units located in the surrounding area, to the Prado Vargas cave. The fossils, with one exception, show no evidence of having been used as tools; thus, their presence in the cave could be attributed to collecting activities. These activities could have been motivated by numerous tangible and intangible causes, which suggest that collecting activities and the associated abstract thinking were present in Neanderthals before the arrival of modern humans. Full article

Feather mites of finfoots (Heliornithidae), a small gruiform family, are poorly and partly erroneously recognized. Grallolichus heliornisi sp. n. (Astigmata: Pterolichidae) is here described from the sungrebe Heliornis fulica as the first representative of the genus commonly found on close relatives of finfoots, Rallidae and Sarothuridae. This species belongs to the species group having ornamented dorsal shields and is morphologically most close to G. proctogamus inhabiting Eurasian coot (Fulica atra). Males of the new species differ from G. proctogamus mainly by the shape of opisthosomal lobes (triangular vs. rounded) and the aedeagus form (parallel sided vs. tapering distally). Females differ mainly by the shape of supranal concavity (open anteriorly vs. closed) and location of setae h1 in relation to supranal concavity (lateral vs. anterior). A key to known species of the genus Grallolichus is provided. The morphological analysis and descriptive characterization of this species, like much of the approximately 2500 feather mite species described to date, were based on mummified mite material preserved in 19th-century old museum bird specimens. These often-forgotten collections are the only source for the analysis of the acarofauna of many rare, unavailable wild or even extinct bird taxa. Full article

Animal and plant remains recovered from two archaeological sites in Iași city (NE Romania) were analyzed in this work. The aim of this study was to contribute to the economic and environmental evaluation of an old urban settlement. The analyzed sites, both of value in archaeological preventive research, are dated to the 18th–19th centuries. The archaeozoological analysis consisted of anatomical, taxonomic, and taphonomic identifications, quantification, estimations of age at slaughter and sex, and osteometry. The results revealed that the animal remains are of domestic origin, as indicated by traces of butchering, and can be mainly described in terms of their frequencies (i.e., number of identified specimens and minimum number of individuals), selection for slaughter, morphology, and size. The results show that animal husbandry (e.g., cattle, sheep/goat, pig, and horse) had significant importance in the economy of the settlement, and cattle were preferred for consumption. Few remains were identified for wild mammals (i.e., red deer, wild boar, and hare), birds, and mollusks. The phytolith analysis indicated that some plant resources were used in the economy of this settlement. The identification of opal silica bodies revealed the presence of grasses and cultivated cereals. Full article

Softwater ponds with Lobelia dortmanna (EU habitat type 3110) represent the rarest aquatic habitat in Belgium. As in many other European countries, its unfavourable conservation status necessitates restoration according to the EU Habitats Directive, which is compromised by a range of pressures and faces increasing social–economic opposition. To explore appropriate goals and remaining obstacles for its ecological rehabilitation, we investigated the environmental history of a pond, formerly renowned for the occurrence of this habitat. We complemented monitoring data with information inferred from diatoms analysed from old samples, herbarium specimens and surface sediments, vegetation records, physical–chemical analyses and additional observations. This indicated almost circumneutral, slightly buffered and nutrient-poor conditions for the first decades of the 20th century. Deposition of atmospheric pollutants caused gradual acidification from the early 1940s, intensifying into mineral-acidic conditions by the 1970s. More recently, a period of alkalinisation and eutrophication followed despite some restoration efforts. We discuss these changes in the contexts of general setting, external pressures and internal processes. Reflecting upon the prospects for restoring the pond’s emblematic biodiversity, management implications for this and other softwater sites dealing with similar problems are discussed. A new combination in the diatom genus Iconella is proposed. Full article

Olives (Olea europaea L.) are an important crop in the Mediterranean Basin, but it is not well-known that they have also been grown in other areas, such as Galicia in northwestern Spain. Although commercial production ended long ago in this peripheral growing region, it remains home to olive resources that are well-adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions, providing a valuable but largely undocumented source of genetic variation. Following a survey of Galicia to locate examples of centuries-old olive trees, those detected were subjected to molecular characterization using a set of microsatellite markers, as well as full botanical characterization using the features established by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, along with others proposed by the present authors. These procedures allowed 11 undescribed varieties to be identified, which are new genetic resources that might be of use in olive improvement programs or studies of how the species adapts to different climates. The trees also underwent preliminary health checks, allowing disease-free specimens of each variety to be propagated. The addition of this material to the Community Plant Variety Office’s register of commercial varieties is underway. Full article

The genus Colias Fabricius, 1807 includes numerous taxa and forms with uncertain status and taxonomic position. Among such taxa are Colias mongola Alphéraky, 1897 and Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897, interpreted in the literature either as conspecific forms, as subspecies of different but morphologically somewhat similar Colias species or as distinct species-level taxa. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, we reconstructed a phylogeographic pattern of the taxa in question. We recover and include in our analysis DNA barcodes of the century-old type specimens, the lectotype of C. tamerlana deposited in the Natural History Museum (Museum für Naturkunde), Berlin, Germany (ZMHU) and the paralectotype of C. tamerlana and the lectotype of C. mongola deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (ZISP). Our analysis grouped all specimens within four (HP_I–HP_IV) deeply divergent but geographically poorly structured clades which did not support nonconspecifity of C. mongola–C. tamerlana. We also show that all studied females of the widely distributed haplogroup HP_II were infected with a single Wolbachia strain belonging to the supergroup B, while the males of this haplogroup, as well as all other investigated specimens of both sexes, were not infected. Our data highlight the relevance of large-scale sampling dataset analysis and the need for testing for Wolbachia infection to avoid erroneous phylogenetic reconstructions and species misidentification. Full article

This paper reports the design, implementation and evaluation of a point cloud-based virtual reality environment for a botanical garden. The objective of this work was the creation of a point cloud-based digital timestamp of the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra, capturing reality and thus a moment in time that can be run and visualised in 3D space in real-time. This environment consists of three distinct locations within the Garden, containing century-old tree specimens. These areas were digitised through photogrammetry to create point clouds, which were then used as the basis of an immersive audiovisual experience whose main goal was to convey the ambiance of the Garden, along with showing people its natural processes, usually hidden to the naked eye, with the aim of rekindling our relationship with nature. We produced multimedia content consisting of PC- and VR-based experiences and 360° videos. Both PC and VR variants were evaluated by 22 volunteers where we assessed the user experience, the resulting ambiance and the gameplay. The results show a positive response from users, which described the resulting experience as “Peaceful”, “Calming”, “Relaxing”, “Dreamy”, “Colourful”, “Immersive” and “Nice”. Full article

This article presents results on the use of a new material as a solidifying agent and/or color-fixing agent. A special polysaccharide material extracted from the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) was tested on historical materials and modern papers. An old book from the 18th century was chosen as historical material. From the mentioned book 42 pages were taken, on which a conservation and restoration pretreatment was performed before applying the polysaccharide material: sampling, fiber analysis, dry cleaning, ink solubility, pH test, thickness measurement and wet cleaning. The paper sheets provided for the test were divided into 4 groups, 3 of which were treated with gel and one left untreated as a reference. The division into groups is not only due to the different method of application, but also due to the process of gel extraction. The effect of the treatment was analyzed using FTIR-ATR. To test the mucilage as color-fixing agent 2 samples were prepared using watercolor papers colored with 6 different watercolors applied to 2.5 cm² samples for each color in two rows of different intensity. One of the 2 samples was treated with gel, but both were immersed for 3 times in a water-ethanol solution for approximately 20 min as is standard practice in conservation and restoration. After washing, both specimens were subjected to colorimetric analysis to assess their differences. The results provided satisfactory evidence for the protection of paints sensitive to aqueous treatments and suggest the use of mucilage as a new material in cleaning method for water-soluble media. Full article

Kriab-mirror tesserae are a type of lead-coated mosaic mirror found in most archaeological sites and antiquities dating back to the 18th century in central Thailand. The need for restoration work has prompted the search for alternative mirrors with similar characteristics to the ancient ones. Prototypes of alternative lead-coated mirrors were successfully used to restore a variety of archaeological sites and artifacts, demonstrating their potential application in heritage conservation and restoration work. We investigated the selected ancient Kriab samples in terms of their composition in both glass and reflective coating layers, as well as the chemical and mechanical characterization of the selected alternative Kriab mirrors. We employed a standard lab-shear test, which proved difficult to evaluate due to failure not occurring between the glass-to-metal interfaces. However, a modified lab-shear specimen setup was used to elucidate the peel-off bonding behavior of the lead-to-glass interface. Additionally, we measured the L*, a*, and b* values in the CIE-Lab standard, which exhibited variations for each colored Kriab mirror. The %reflectance of the selected ancient and alternative Kriab mirrors was highly similar when lower than a high %reflectance of a standard silvering mirror. Thai professional conservators have embraced the use of alternative Kriab mirrors in restoration projects as a replacement for old Kriab mirrors, as they are more compatible in terms of color and avoid the excessive brightness of silvered colored mirrors. However, the weathering durability of the alternative mirrors was poor due to the leaching of alkaline and lead ions caused by hydrolytic attack on the poor chemical stability separated phase. Overall, our research provides valuable insights into the properties and qualities of both ancient and alternative Kriab mirrors, which will be useful in the further development of mirrors with more resembling properties or even more environmentally friendly Kriab mirrors and their potential applications in restoration work in Thailand and archaeological sites in Asia. Full article

The Old World swallowtail Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most well-known and most characteristic members of the family Papilionidae. Over the past two centuries, the butterfly has been the subject of many studies. P. machaon is characterised by a tendency to change the wing colour pattern. In turn, due to the great interest of collectors and amateur entomologists, these studies have been converted into the description of over 100 colour forms, aberrations and subspecies. In this study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), 16S rDNA and cytochrome b sequences were used to examine the correlation between the intraspecific classification and genetic structure of P. machaon. The study used 87 specimens from 59 different localities covering the geographic distribution of this species in the Palaearctic. The phylogenetic relationships within and between the Old World swallowtail subspecies showed that the intraspecific classification proposed by various authors does not correlate with the variability in mitochondrial DNA sequences. In addition, populations occurring at the species distribution borders in the Palaearctic Region (i.e., Japan, Kamchatka, Morocco and Sakhalin) are genetically distinct from other species. Full article

During interventions to improve the energy efficiency of cultural heritage, it is common to use methodologies that are used for current buildings with different thermal behaviour. For this reason, research has been carried out on the thermal behaviour of old brick walls by carrying out thermal flow tests in the laboratory on brickwork specimens, in order to compare the behaviour of handmade bricks and mechanical bricks from more than a century ago, and to analyse the relationship between the values of thermal conductivity, humidity, density and porosity, as well as to compare these results with those obtained by applying the procedure of the EN-1745 standard. It was concluded that bricks behave thermally differently, depending on the manufacturing process: handmade or mechanical, in both types of brick it was found that the higher the moisture content and density were, the higher the brick’s thermal conductivity value. It has also been concluded that old bricks have thermal conductivity values different from those indicated in EN-1745 as a function of density, and that the ratio detected in these specimens in the dry state and in the wet state does not conform to the processes indicated in the standard. With regard to porosity, it is important to note that the greater the closed porosity, the lower the conductivity. It has been concluded that in order to intervene in cultural heritage buildings, it is necessary to carry out a specific study of the behaviour of the systems with which they were constructed. Full article

Our understanding of the biology of the extinct pig-footed bandicoots (Chaeropus) has been substantially revised over the past two decades by both molecular and morphological research. Resolving the systematic and temporal contexts of Chaeropus evolution has relied heavily on sequencing DNA from century-old specimens. We have used sliding window BLASTs and phylogeny reconstruction, as well as cumulative likelihood and apomorphy distributions, to identify contamination in sequences from both species of pig-footed bandicoot. The sources of non-target DNA that were identified range from other bandicoot species to a bird—emphasizing the importance of sequence authentication for historical museum specimens, as has become standard for ancient DNA studies. Upon excluding the putatively contaminated fragments, Chaeropus was resolved as the sister to all other bandicoots (Peramelidae), to the exclusion of bilbies (Macrotis). The estimated divergence time between the two Chaeropus species also decreases in better agreement with the fossil record. This study provides evolutionary context for testing hypotheses on the ecological transition of pig-footed bandicoots from semi-fossorial omnivores towards cursorial grazers, which in turn may represent the only breach of deeply conserved ecospace partitioning between modern Australo-Papuan marsupial orders. Full article

There is a high diversity of bees in the tropics, including honey bees and stingless bees, which are the main sources for honey and other ecosystem services. In Indonesia, beekeeping practices have been developed for centuries, and they have been part of many cultural practices in many traditional communities. The objective of this research was to study the beekeeping status and managed bee diversity in Indonesia and to investigate beekeepers’ perspectives on the factors and obstacles related to beekeeping. Direct interview and online interview were conducted to gain data on bees and beekeepers. In total, 272 beekeepers were interviewed across 25 provinces. Samplings of honey bees and stingless bees were also done during direct interviews for further identification and, when possible, pollen identification. All data and specimens were then sent to IPB Bogor for compilation and identification. We recorded 22 species of bees, including 3 species of honey bees and 19 species of stingless bees, that are reared by Indonesian beekeepers, with Apis cerana and Tetragonula laeviceps as the most common species. Our research also found that the majority of beekeepers fall into the category of the younger generation (30–39 years old) with educational background mostly from senior high school. Based on the beekeepers’ perspectives, there are several obstacles to beekeeping, especially the occurrence of death of bee foragers attributed to climate, food source, and pesticides. In conclusion, there is a need to develop a strategy for beekeeping and bee conservation in Indonesia, especially for adaptation and mitigation from environmental changes with a particular focus on climate and land-use change. Full article

The paper summarises an experimental study on the fatigue crack propagation and cracks paths in ancient steel—19th-century puddle iron from the Eiffel bridge. The tests were performed with the load R-ratio equal to 0.05 and 0.5. All tests were performed under different notch inclinations (mode I + II). The fatigue crack growth rate in the tested material is significantly higher than its “modern” equivalent—low carbon mild steel. The crack closure phenomenon occurs in specimens during the process of crack growth. Understanding this aspect is crucial for the examination of a stress R-ratio influence on kinetic fatigue fracture diagram (KFFD) description. Both the experimental and numerical approach, using the HP VEE environment, has been applied to the crack closure as well as the crack opening forces’ estimation. These analyses are based on the deformation of the hysteresis loop. The algorithm that was implemented in the numerical environment is promising when it comes to describing the kinetics of fatigue crack growth (taking into consideration the crack closure effect) in old metallic materials. Full article

Throughout the last four centuries, many anatomical museums across the world have collected teratological specimens that became precious objects. These can be regarded as spirits of the past which have captured the morphology of diseases through time. These valuable and irreplaceable specimens can be perfectly used in contemporary dysmorphological or genetic research. Unfortunately, due to the historical nature of these specimens and the regularly used aggressive preservation fluids, DNA degradation is often present. Furthermore, the use of material for DNA extraction is restricted to preserve the appearance of these valuable museological specimens. Thus, the most challenging part in this perspective is to harvest sufficient DNA of good quality for further testing without damaging the specimens. Besides fixated specimens, most teratological collections contain dried skeletal and teeth materials which are an excellent source to extract DNA. We here present a DNA-based method that enables genetic identification of the G1138A mutation of the FGFR3 gene in a 180-year-old achondroplastic skeleton, confirming the previously morphologically determined disease. Nuclear DNA was extracted from a premolar tooth and the mutation was found using Sanger sequencing of a small region of the FGFR3 gene. Full article