Institute Museum Research Articles

Advancements in Plant Protection Technologies and Mechanization in the Russian Federation

The paper highlights the achievements of domestic scientists, engineers and designers in pesticide application in agriculture. (Research purpose) The study provides a retrospective analysis of the evolution of plant protection technologies and mechanization tools in the Russian Federation. (Materials and methods) The research draws on a variety of sources, including publications in scientific journals, monographs, conference proceedings, archival photographs, and exhibits from the scientific and methodological office (museum) of the All-Russian Research Institute for Plant Protection. (Results and discussion) The paper details the development of domestic horse-drawn, mounted tractor, automobile field and portal garden sprayers in 1931-1941. In the 1960s, research focused on determining the optimal droplet size and phytocidal action radius for low-volume spraying of plant protection products. Aerosol technologies were developed. The paper highlights the contribution of Dr.Sc. V.F. Dunsky in establishing the theoretical foundations of fine-droplet and low-volume spraying physics and technology. It also emphasizes the development and enhancement of plant protection technologies by creating a comprehensive system of machines for agricultural mechanization. This progress was achieved under the scientific and methodological guidance of experts from the All-Russian Institute of Agricultural Mechanization. As the consumption rates of the working fluid decreased, rotary (disk) sprayers became essential for both ground and aerial spraying equipment. To enhance environmental safety, more eco-friendly sprayers were developed with systems for small droplet separation or forced sedimentation, and a method for electrically charging droplets was introduced. Modern approaches to the development of new plant protection technologies are based on the principles of precision farming. These approaches include differentiated crop treatment that considers the spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of harmful organisms within field areas. (Conclusions) Plant protection technologies and mechanization tools evolved and improved with the introduction of new chemical agents. Notably, spectrometry is used to create spectral image libraries of cultivated and weedy, healthy and diseased plants, facilitating the automatic decoding of data collected from field through neural networks (artificial intelligence). Additionally, unmanned aerial vehicles are utilized for the application of plant protection products.

Development Strategy of Sichuan Sports Museum under the Background of Cultural and Tourism Integration

Through conducting a SWOT analysis of the Chengdu Sports Institute Museum, and utilizing the 4M management, 5W display, and 4P marketing theoretical models, this study explores effective strategies suitable for Sichuan sports museums in terms of functionality, display, and marketing.

Discovery and lectotype designation of Longitarsuscalifornicus (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini).

The lectotype of Longitarsuscalifornicus (Motschulsky, 1845) is designated, described, and illustrated. An illustrated key to eight light-colored Longitarsus species known to occur in the western United States is presented. A brief history of Russian entomological collecting in North America during the first half of 19th century, with specimens preserved in Zoological Museum of Moscow University, Moscow and Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg, is provided.

A new species and two newly-recorded species of the genus Micrencaustes (Coleoptera, Erotylidae) from China.

The genus Micrencaustes Crotch, 1876 (Coleoptera, Cucujoidea, Erotylidae, Erotylinae, Encaustini) includes 44 known species worldwide, 11 species having been reported to occur in China. In recent years, species of genus Micrencaustes in China are constantly being discovered, mainly distributed in southern China. A new species, Micrencaustes (Mimencaustes) occulta sp. nov., is described and illustrated. Two species, Micrencaustes (Mimencaustes) divisa Arrow, 1925 and Micrencaustes (Micrencaustes) navicularis Arrow, 1921 are recorded from China for the first time. The morphological characteristics of adults of new species are re-described in detail and illustrated. A key to Chinese species of the genus Micrencaustes is provided. The specimens of new species was collected from Yunnan Province and the specimens of Micrencaustes (Mimencaustes) divisa Arrow, 1925 and Micrencaustes (Micrencaustes) navicularis Arrow, 1921 were collected from Hainan Province and Guangdong Province and deposited in the Museum of Hebei University and Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Documentation of science and technology heritage: a collaboration case between the Federal University of Pará and the Evandro Chagas Institute Museum

It is nearly impossible to consider the management of cultural spaces without contemplating the potential implementation of informational benefits. The feasibility study and implementation of Tainacan is a solution adopted in the museum field by the Brazilian Institute of Museums, and using it allows the interoperability of museum information throughout the national cultural system. The objective is to report the adversities and institutional solutions experienced in order to present museological documentation solutions for scientific collections within the scope of the heritage of science and technology. The methodology used to achieve the objective was the implementation of the extension project Organization and Management of Museological Documentation of the collections present in the Museum of the Instituto Evandro Chagas. This creates a laboratory of museological documental practices based on research to support the organization and representation of information of the Evandro Chagas Institute's museological collection, also allowing semantic conceptual modeling according to international standards for digital collections. This university extension action provides a unique and essential professional experience for students and opportunities for the dissemination of the profession and the Museology Course at the Universidade Federal do Pará through the work carried out. KEYWORDS: Museum Documentation; University Extension; Heritage of Science and Technology

Arctic Quaternary Mammal Collections in the Museums of Yakutsk (Yakutia, East Siberia, Russia)

Many Ice Age fossil mammals remains are found in Yakutia, which occupies most of Eastern Siberia. In the city of Yakutsk, various museum and scientific institutions hold collections and exhibits of Quaternary mammals collected at different times in different locations in the Arctic zone of Yakutia. These collections mostly represents the Late Pleistocene Mammoth Fauna, and are housed in the Emelyan Yarosslavsky’s Yakutsk State Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of the North, the Mammoth Museum, the Geological Museum of Diamond and Precious Metals Geology Institute, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Department of the Mammoth Fauna study, Academy of Sciences of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. These collections include woolly mammoth skeletons, other fragments of mammoths, woolly rhinoceros and horse carcasses, whole carcasses of steppe bison, cave lion cubs, and other fossil mammals, many bones and teeth of various mammals of the Mammoth Fauna. The study of these fossil mammal remains allow identification of features of their anatomy and morphology, as well as reconstruction of the ecological conditions at the time they were alive.

Front Cover

Next article FreeFront CoverPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreOn the cover: OIM E10780A–D, Egyptian scribal palette with reeds, period unknown (Old Kingdom–New Kingdom). A typical palette like this one contained two reservoirs for red and black inks and a hollow cavity for storing the writing implements. During most of the pharaonic period, scribes used the shaft of a rush plant with a frayed end to use as a brush, before adopting the sharpened reed-pen in the Greco-Roman era. Although this palette is uninscribed, other examples are decorated with the owner’s name and titles. The design may favor a New Kingdom dating. Wood, pigments, reed; purchased in Egypt, 1920; 1.2x4.8x36.8cm. See the study of reed-pen epigraphy in this issue by Lucía Díaz-Iglesias Llanos and Daniel M. Méndez-Rodríguez entitled “Epigraphical Study of the Burial Chamber Belonging to Nakhtmin (TT 87): Materiality and Scribal Hands.” Image courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago; description courtesy of Foy Scalf. Next article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 82, Number 1April 2023 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/725406 © 2023 The Journal of Near Eastern Studies. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Diagramming a Timeline of Dance

This article traces the developments of the project For There to be a Timeline — GENEALOGIES OF DANCE AS Art PRACTICE IN PORTUGAL from 2016 to 2021, wherein a state of the art regarding the production of dance performances throughout the twentieth century was generated. In particular, a chronological map with entries referring to protagonists, institutions, events and contexts was drawn heuristically, each iteration corresponding to the exhibition of a different timeline, taking place in theatrical venues as well as independent art spaces, and institutional museums. This procedure allowed for essaying temporary versions of the histories being told, resulting in a collection of perspectives which offer an overview of dance in Portugal throughout the twentieth century. The comparative historiography which guided the research from the beginning is expounded and analyzed, in particular with regards to the socio-political, but also of pedagogies and critical reception. The various ways in which the collected contents were shown in relation to one another and in relation to the chronological representations of the century are discussed, allowing to comment on the project character and results, in particular its open endedness and potential reformulation.

Presentation of so far undetermined bird remains from the Pliocene of Beremend 26 and Csarnóta 2 and 4 (Baranya county, South Hungary)

Abstract The authors have defined at the order, subfamily, family or genus level the very fragmentary and small-size bird bone material from the three Pliocene-age sites in southern Hungary (Beremend 26, Csarnóta 2 and 4), which is in the collection of the Museum of the Hungarian Institute of Geology and Geophysics. The non-catalogued bone fragments remaining from the already examined material were identified. The number of taxa identified is 26, of which one species is new to science. The new species (Pliogallus csarnotanus n. sp.) belongs to a hitherto disputed genus, which is thus recognised through the newly defined material. Of the rest of the material, only Paleocryptonix hungaricus Jánossy, 1991 and Glaucidium baranensis Kessler, 2010 have been identified to species level, the Gallinula, Porzana, Merops, Garrulus, Nucifraga finds to genus level, while the other 18 taxa have been identified only to subfamily or family level (Perdicinae, Columbidae, Alaudidae, Hirundinidae, Panuridae, Paridae, Sittidae, Certhiidae, Muscicapidae, Turdidae, Sylviidae, Motacillidae, Prunellidae, Laniidae, Sturnidae and Fringillidae), or only to order level (Charadriiformes, Coraciiformes).

The Gallery Enhancements Project at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago: Everything Old Is New Again

What began as a plan to replace the original 1931 walnut display cases quickly morphed into a five-year Gallery Enhancements Project at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago (OIM). Timed to coincide with the centennial celebration in the fall of 2019, the museum redesign includes greater label transparency, a standardized set of gallery materials, and some stunning sightlines, color schemes, interpretations, and object placements. While a product of its time, the Oriental Institute is not frozen in time, and the project is a testament to OIM commitment to visitor and scholarly engagement. In this moment of museum self-reflection, reckoning, and public scrutiny it has become difficult to have the name Oriental Institute, so in addition to the bricks and mortar restructure, the institute is also changing their name to mitigate the persistent harm perpetrated by use of that expression. We cannot change the colonial origins of archaeological practice, partage, and museum display, but we can challenge, contemplate, and question the collection, its ancient and modern histories, and orientalist legacies on display. The new and improved OIM offers us the unique opportunity to experience an ancient collection, acquired in a colonial moment, through a contemporary lens, which could make all the difference in our understanding of the past and the present.

PECULIARITIES OF EXHIBITION AREAS DESIGNING OF INSTITUTIONAL MUSEUMS OF WEST SIBERIA (RUSSIA)

The paper considers basic methodological principles and theoretical approaches to arranging exhibition spaces of the today's institutional museums operating in West Siberia (Russia). Specifics of departmental museums as a sort of museum formations with debatable classification features is cleared. Description of modern conceptions of subject-spatial designing of exhibition areas in a museum is given; the author of the article outlines her own view on a technology of arranging exhibition in an institutional museum, names typical elements of its topic structure, analyses attractive architectural and artistic decisions in designing museum exhibitions.

Assessing Environmental Acidity in Storerooms of Natural History Collections

AbstractOutdoor and indoor pollutants can affect the conservation of natural history collections. As a first approach to this question, environmental acidity around specimens in the collections of the Natural Science Museum of Barcelona and Botanic Institute of Barcelona (MCNB‐IBB) was measured. Measurements were taken using optical sensors in a number of different places: inside and outside buildings, in storerooms, on store cases and cabinets and in containers in three collections. All acidity measurements fell within a pH range of 6.5–7.7, which suggests that the collections tested were not exposed to a dangerous acidic environment during the measurement period. Despite its outdated facilities, the Museum’s buildings and storerooms act as effective barriers against acid pollutants entering from the outside. The type of storage facilities and containers employed seems to have little impact but is still nevertheless of some relevance. Optical sensors are excellent tools for disentangling the complex spatio‐temporal environments in which the MCNB‐IBB collections are housed. Larger samples will be necessary if a more complete analysis is to be undertaken.

W trosce o polskość dzieci i młodzieży z okresu drugiej wojny światowej w Nowej Zelandii

The aim of the article is to present the issue of retaining the national identity among the youngest Polish exiles living in New Zealand. To present that issue, methods appropriate for the history of education were applied. The basis of the research were the materials stored in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. As a result of the archival research, at the invitation of the Prime Minister Peter Fraser, a group of Polish children arrived in the settlement of Pahiatua in New Zealand. They were mainly orphans with their carers. The exiles were provided with good living conditions. School children were prepared to return to free Poland after the war, they attended Polish schools in the settlement and the older ones attended New Zealand schools run mainly by the Catholic Church. The moment Poland found itself under the Soviet influence and the power was taken by the communists, the exiles from Pahiatua did not want to return to the enslaved country. They decided to stay in the friendly New Zealand. In that situation, the issue of retaining their national identity arose, along with the need to provide them with education, profession and work. The concept of resisting the policy of depriving the young generation of their national identity was in the focus of the Polish authority in London. It was also a matter of great concern of the teachers and carers in the settlement of Pahaiatua. Many initiatives were taken which aimed at retaining the Polish identity among children and youth living in New Zealand, who gradually started work in the unknown environment. The conducted activities to retain the Polish identity bore positive results. The Polish identity wasretained not only by the exiles but also by their children and grandchildren, who, not knowing the language of their ancestors, cultivate national traditions and remember their roots. As a result of the presented deliberations, we may draw a conclusion that the conduct of the Polish authority in exile in the analysed issue was appropriate. In such a situation one should act similarly and always consistently.

Digital cultural heritage: Collaborating with students and discovering lost museums

Our paper consists of two parts. First, we review the history of the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI) museum, its collections, its closure and the dispersal of its collections. Second, we synthesize this analysis with a summary and reflection on the challenges of undertaking a collective memory project that represents the rise and fall of empire. To synthesize these two points, we discuss the museum’s history and highlight how digital cultural heritage initiatives have catalyzed an interest in digitizing and archiving RUSI’s collection records. Following our review of RUSI and its museum collection, we discuss the value of academics forming partnerships with cultural heritage institutions, and we analyze our experiences managing two student projects hosted at RUSI. Our discussion of student work will reflect on methods for designing engaging curriculum that encourages students to practice record keeping for cultural heritage institutions.

Професор Вейт Грабер – фундатор «Зоологічного інституту» університету Франца-Йосифа у Чернівцях (біографічний нарис до 175-річчя з дня народження)

The article is devoted to the Veit Graber (1844-1892) – first director of the Zoological Institute and Zoological Museum of the University of Chernivtsi. The well-known Austrian zoologist worked at the Chernivtsi University for 16 years (in 1876-1892), twice as the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy (in 1879-80 and 1886-87 academic years), and he was rector of the university in 1886-87. Graber's scientific heritage is about 70 printed works (articles, books, monographs, tractates), most of which describe the anatomy, sensory organs, embryology, phylogeny of insects and other invertebrates (Annelida, Polychaeta; Echinodermata; Arachnida; Myriapoda). Some of his exhibits collected in scientific expeditions (in the Austrian Alps, to the Mediterranean, in Trieste, Naples) are still stored in the zoological collections of the Nature Museum Chernivtsi National University.

THE MATERIALS OF THE KOMAROVO AND SOSNITSA CULTURES IN THE EXPOSITION OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHEOLOGY OF THE NAS OF UKRAINE

The article republishes the ceramics and bronze decorations of Komarovo and Sosnitsa cultures of the Trzciniec cultural circle (TCC) from the exposition of the Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Detailed descriptions of the exhibits and their author’s graphic reconstructions are given. These things, which became a textbook long time ago, previously were published only in the form of schematic and inaccurate drawings or in the form of not very high-quality photographs. The materials originate from the sites of the northern part of the forest-steppe eastern Volhynia (Wojciechowka), Kiev (Ukrainka, Zavalovka, Zdvizhevka, Plitovische, Gostomel) and Chernigov (Rudnya) Polesie. The finds refer to different periods of the formation and development of the TСC and date back to 2nd thousand BC.
 Special attention is paid to vessels discovered in 1956 by N. T. Evstropov at the site Gostomel, Stekol’nyy zavod 1. S. S. Berezanskaya came to the conclusion that this point is not a household site, but «a small soil burial ground with burning», referring to a series of observations of N. T. Evstropova. Detailed comparison of the primary publication of N. T. Evstropov with subsequent re-publication of the site of S. S. Berezanskaya, allow us to call into question conclusions of the latter. One of the reasons for skepticism is the miraculous transformation of «destroyed teeth of a ruminant animal» (in N. T. Evstropov publication) into «worn-out» and «calcified bones» (in S. S. Berezanskaya publications). Fragments of the teeth of a ruminant animal (bull?) are still folded into one of the vessels exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Could the vessels from Gostomel be connected with ritual-funeral practice, such as the vessels found in the ritual-funeral complexes of the Malopolovetskoe, Wojciechowka, Bukovna cemeteries? It is possible, but there is no evidence for this. Similarly, they can be associated with any other rituals, as well as with the remains of an ordinary household complex. N. T. Evstropov did it at the first publication of the site. Analysis of the ceramic complex allows us to attribute the Gostomel, Stekol’nyy zavod 1 point to the turn of the middle and late stages of the TCC Sosnitsa culture and date it to the end of the 13th — the beginning of the 12th centuries BC.

Biodiversity Informatics in Brazil: A personal perspective

Biodiversity informatics (BI) plays an important role in helping us know, protect and use biodiversity sustainably. It encompasses activities from data digitization, standardization, sharing and aggregation, to supporting decision and policy making. In a country like Brazil, with a large continental geographic area containing ca. 15% of the planet’s biodiversity, the challenge is even greater: stakeholders are widely distributed over a large country and the amount of data is huge. Brazil has been a part of the international BI community, including Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG), for around two decades. Initially represented solely by the Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental (CRIA), gradually other groups from universities, museums and institutions joined the arena. Despite the broader group of stakeholders now involved, the local community is not strong enough. From a human resources point of view, the country has very good universities that train competent professionals both in information technology (IT) and in biology or related fields. Concerning the IT professionals, not surprisingly, other industries and job opportunities are usually more attractive and few people even know about BI. This is probably not unique to Brazil. Biological sciences professionals, for their part, usually have little literacy in computing and are equally unaware of BI as a field. On the institutional level, museums, universities and other biological data owners often lack IT support for biological data management, including digitization, and systems development/maintenance. This may reflect the lack of appreciation of the importance of data and of BI as a foundation for good biodiversity science and management. The same happens when it comes to funding. Biological collections are not adequately funded and lack more than a few episodic programs to support collection and museum maintenance and digitization. This lack of infrastructural funding highlights the tragedies of the fires at the Butantan Museum in 2010 (80,000 snakes, 180,000 spiders) and the Museu Nacional in 2018, (20 million biological specimens and objects of the Brazilian and world history and art were lost). The exception is the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), which has been supporting projects since 1999 on biodiversity and BI via its successful Biota-FAPESP program, the first to tie biodiversity projects to data digitization and sharing in Brazil. The lack of institutional engagement and support, and funding affects the sustainability of many initiatives and puts at risk the long term data availability. Due to political reasons, Brazil only joined the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) in 2012 as an associate (non-contributing financially and non-voting) member with a commitment to become a voting member within five years. Until recently, the Brazilian Biodiversity Information System (SiBBr), Brazil’s GBIF node, was also hindered by politics from having a solid, stable national governance and funding to help “consolidate a solid national infrastructure on biodiversity data”, and to unite the growing Brazilian BI community around it. In the international scenario, while political, cultural and funding reasons may have hindered more equitable collaborations (e.g., tools development and sharing) with countries in the Global South, competing Global North-centric projects have prevailed. Although most remaining biodiversity is in the Global South, where local engagement is crucial, in many cases southern partners still often only act as data providers. Collaborative work is required with genuine co-creation, empowering all parties. Initiatives like the Living Atlases community must be recognized and welcomed as a positive shift. Despite all of these challenges, it can be surprising how much Brazilian biodiversity science has achieved throughout the years, and it gives us hope that in the future, if some of these issues are addressed, a lot more can be done. Education and training, continued funding and institutional support, governance, and international collaboration are essential.

Попередній аналіз аттичної чорнолакової кераміки з експозиції Археологічного музею ІА НАН України

Попередній аналіз аттичної чорнолакової кераміки з експозиції Археологічного музею ІА НАН України

The study of essential oil on antimicrobial activity and their composition towards microorganism

In the course of the research, the microorganisms that often caused disease for animals were used, according to the literature, were genetically predisposed to resistance to traditional antibiotics and needed to find new effective means to combat them. It was used different antibiotic substances benzalkonium chloride, silver nanoparticles, and promising in this direction, essential oils of plants: fir, eucalyptus. The article provides information on the selection and study of the efficacy of substances, components with essential oils necessary for the development of complex bactericidal agents and the study of their antimicrobial activity against microorganisms. In determining the antimicrobial activity of essential oils, test cultures were used: Microccoccus luteus ATCC9341, Microccoccus lisogenicus, B. subtilis AATCC6633, B.cereus ATCC6633, S. aureus 209-P, S. zooepidemicus, Clebsiella spp, Salmonella cholerae suis, Pasterella multocida from the museum of State Scientific and Control Institute of Biotechnology and strains of microorganisms. The determination of fungicidal acity was performed on microscopic molds of Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium urticae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus. In experiments with Staphilococcus aureus, Streptococcus zooepidemicus, Pasteurella multocida, the antibiotic action of essential oils of eucalyptus and puff was confirmed and the possibility of its enhancement by the addition of quaternary ammonium compounds was confirmed. According to the results, the use as an alternative to antibiotics and disinfectants of preparations based on vegetable essential oils in the form of aerosols not only improves the number of animals from respiratory infections of bacterial origin, but also significantly improves the ecological conditions of the work of personnel in livestock buildings, promotes treatment and prevention respiratory diseases. The investigations have proved the expediency of using vegetable essential oils for the design of highly effective drugs and the possibility of enhancing their antimicrobial activity by quaternary ammonium compounds and silver nanoparticles, as well as a complex preparation «Asept» for aerosol application in the presence of animals.

Роль картографических материалов в региональном геологическом музее

The modern state of map collection of the A. A. Chernov Geological Museum of Institute of Geology of Komi Science Centre of the UB of the RAS is described. The collection is divided into the historic and expository parts. It has shown the geological and geographical maps of the European part of North-East of Russia starting to XV age till now. The features of cartographic material for understanding the history of the study and development of the territory are described. It highlights the role of cartographic material in the museum exposition in the study of the structural features of the earth's crust and mineral exploration. The problems of modern cartographic support of the museum are described and the requirements for maps are compiled. The modern cartographic material is an electronic maps and charts. It has shown the importance of the establishing of Regional Atlas for evaluating the history and the future development of the region.