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Pharmaceuticals have been acknowledged as an important contaminant of emerging concern with the potential to cause adverse effects in exposed fauna. Most research has focused on temperate freshwater systems; therefore, there is a pressing need to quantify pharmaceutical exposure in subtropical coastal marine systems. This study investigated the prevalence of pharmaceutical exposure to bonefish (Albula vulpes) in subtropical South Florida, USA, and evaluated the relative risk of detected concentrations to elicit pharmacological effects. The influence of sampling region, season (within or outside spawning season), and bonefish length on pharmaceutical assemblage, detection frequency, and risk was assessed. Both spatial (multiple regions) and temporal (spawning season) components were considered in order to incorporate bonefish biology biological in our exploration of pharmaceutical exposure and potential risk of effect. To quantify risk of pharmacological effects, concentrations were compared to a 1/3 threshold of the human therapeutic plasma concentration (H T PC). In total, 53 different pharmaceuticals were detected with an average of 7.1 pharmaceuticals per bonefish and 52.3 % had at least one pharmaceutical exceeding the 1/3 H T PC threshold. The presence of pharmaceutical cocktails at concentrations capable of eliciting pharmacological effects is of particular concern considering the potential for unknown interactions. For exposure and risk of pharmacological effect, region and season were significant, while bonefish length was not. Pharmaceutical exposure and risk were highest in the most remote sampling region. Results establish pharmaceuticals' widespread prevalence in subtropical coastal marine ecosystems, exposure and risk to biota, and the necessity to examine marine systems. [Display omitted] • Pharmaceuticals are present at large spatial scales in a subtropical ecosystem. • Concentrations were above a threshold of pharmacological effect for 52 % of fish. • Regional differences in exposure are unrelated to proximity to population centers. • Seasonal influence on pharmaceutical assemblage and risk of pharmacological effects • Spawning biology influenced pharmaceutical assemblage and risk of effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Hormonal growth promoters (HGPs), widely used in beef cattle production globally, make their way into the environment as agricultural effluent—with potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. One HPG of particular concern is 17β-trenbolone, which is persistent in freshwater habitats and can affect the development, morphology and reproductive behaviors of aquatic organisms. Despite this, few studies have investigated impacts of 17β-trenbolone on non-reproductive behaviors linked to growth and survival, like boldness and predator avoidance. None consider the interaction between 17β-trenbolone and other environmental stressors, such as temperature, although environmental challenges confronting animals in the wild seldom, if ever, occur in isolation. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the interactive effects of trenbolone and temperature on organismal behavior. To do this, eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) were subjected to an environmentally-relevant concentration of 17β-trenbolone (average measured concentration 3.0 ± 0.2 ng/L) or freshwater (i.e. control) for 21 days under one of two temperatures (20 and 30 °C), after which the predator escape, boldness and exploration behavior of fish were tested. Predator escape behavior was assayed by subjecting fish to a simulated predator strike, while boldness and exploration were assessed in a separate maze experiment. We found that trenbolone exposure increased boldness behavior. Interestingly, some behavioral effects of trenbolone depended on temperature, sex, or both. Specifically, significant effects of trenbolone on male predator escape behavior were only noted at 30 °C, with males becoming less reactive to the simulated threat. Further, in the maze experiment, trenbolone-exposed fish explored the maze faster than control fish, but only at 20 °C. We conclude that field detected concentrations of 17β-trenbolone can impact ecologically important behaviors of fish, and such effects can be temperature dependent. Such findings underscore the importance of considering the potentially interactive effects of other environmental stressors when investigating behavioral effects of environmental contaminants. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • We studied the interactive effects of 17β-trenbolone and temperature on fish behavior. • Trenbolone exposure increased risk-taking behavior. • Some behavioral effects of trenbolone depended on temperature and were sex specific. • Exposed males at 30 °C, became less reactive to a simulated predator strike. • Trenbolone-exposed fish at 20 °C swam longer and explored a maze faster than control fish. We show, for the first time, the interactive effects of temperature, sex and 17β-trenbolone on predator escape, boldness, and exploratory behaviors in fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, a sol–gel route was used to prepare Y0.9Er0.1Al3(BO3)4 glassy thin films by spin-coating technique looking for the preparation and optimization of planar waveguides for integrated optics. The films were deposited on silica and silicon substrates using stable sols synthesized by the sol–gel process. Deposits with thicknesses ranging between 520 and 720nm were prepared by a multi-layer process involving heat treatments at different temperatures from glass transition to the film crystallization and using heating rates of 2°C/min. The structural characterization of the layers was performed by using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy as a function of the heat treatment. Microstructural evolution in terms of annealing temperatures was followed by high resolution scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Optical transmission spectra were used to determine the refractive index and the film thicknesses through the envelope method. The optical and guiding properties of the films were studied by m-line spectroscopy. The best films were monomode with 620nm thickness and a refractive index around 1.664 at 980nm wavelength. They showed good waveguiding properties with high light-coupling efficiency and low propagation loss at 632.8 and 1550nm of about 0.88dB/cm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Optically active Y2-xErxTi2O7 (YETO) thin films have been successfully deposited using the aerosol–gel process. The effects of post-deposition rapid thermal annealing and conventional thermal annealing heat-treatments have been investigated. The corresponding thin film microstructure is described and discussed in terms of crystallisation degree, mean crystallite size, and porosity. Strong photoluminescence (PL) at 1.53 μm is observed under 980 nm excitation. PL properties are found to depend closely on the film crystallisation degree. PL emission spectra exhibit sharp peaks for crystalline films and a wide band for amorphous ones. PL decay curves are also very closely related to the film microstructure and the corresponding lifetimes range between 2 and 7 ms for a similar erbium concentration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Water temperature significantly affects biotransformation of pharmaceuticals in fish. • Biologically active metabolites can accumulate in fish without being present in water. • Relative importance of metabolic pathways in fish can differ from mammalian models. • Ability to biotransform pharmaceuticals can differ between macroinvertebrate species. Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) have been shown to accumulate in aquatic and riparian food-webs. Yet, our understanding of how temperature, a key environmental factor in nature, affects uptake, biotransformation, and the subsequent accumulation of PhACs in aquatic organisms is limited. In this study, we tested to what extent bioconcentration of an anxiolytic drugs (temazepam and oxazepam) is affected by two temperature regimes (10 and 20 °C) and how the temperature affects the temazepam biotransformation and subsequent accumulation of its metabolite (oxazepam) in aquatic organisms. We used European perch (Perca fluviatilis) and dragonfly larvae (Sympetrum sp.), which represent predator and prey species of high ecological relevance in food chains of boreal and temperate aquatic ecosystems. Experimental organisms were exposed to target pharmaceuticals at a range of concentrations (0.2–6 µg L−1) to study concentration dependent differences in bioconcentration and biotransformation. We found that the bioconcentration of temazepam in perch was significantly reduced at higher temperatures. Also, temperature had a strong effect on temazepam biotransformation in the fish, with the production and subsequent accumulation of its metabolite (oxazepam) being two-fold higher at 20 °C compared to 10 °C. In contrast, we found no temperature dependency for temazepam bioconcentration in dragonfly larvae and no detectable biotransformation of the parent compound that would result in measurable concentrations of oxazepam in this organism. Our results highlight that while organisms may share the same aquatic ecosystem, their exposure to PhACs may change differently across temperature gradients in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Yttrium titanate (YTO) thin films doped with rare earth elements have been deposited using the aerosol–gel process. The up-conversion emission (UPE) of films doped with erbium and/or thulium has been studied with respect to the film crystallization degree and rare earth concentration. The effects of ytterbium codoping have been considered as well. Mechanisms that control UPE of YTO films are discussed with respect to the experimental conditions. It is shown that films, which selectively emit in the blue (1G4→3H6 transition of thulium ions), green (2H11/2→4I15/2 and 4S3/2→4I15/2 transitions of erbium ions), or red (4F9/2→4I15/2 transition of erbium ions), can readily be achieved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most research on pharmaceutical presence in the environment to date has focused on smaller scale assessments of freshwater and riverine systems, relying mainly on assays of water samples, while studies in marine ecosystems and of exposed biota are sparse. This study investigated the pharmaceutical burden in bonefish (Albula vulpes), an important recreational and artisanal fishery, to quantify pharmaceutical exposure throughout the Caribbean Basin. We sampled 74 bonefish from five regions, and analyzed them for 102 pharmaceuticals. We assessed the influence of sampling region on the number of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical assemblage, and risk of pharmacological effects. To evaluate the risk of pharmacological effects at the scale of the individual, we proposed a metric based on the human therapeutic plasma concentration (H T PC), comparing measured concentrations to a threshold of 1/3 the H T PC for each pharmaceutical. Every bonefish had at least one pharmaceutical, with an average of 4.9 and a maximum of 16 pharmaceuticals in one individual. At least one pharmaceutical was detected in exceedance of the 1/3 H T PC threshold in 39% of bonefish, with an average of 0.6 and a maximum of 11 pharmaceuticals exceeding in a Key West individual. The number of pharmaceuticals (49 detected in total) differed across regions, but the risk of pharmacological effects did not (23 pharmaceuticals exceeded the 1/3 H T PC threshold). The most common pharmaceuticals were venlafaxine (43 bonefish), atenolol (36), naloxone (27), codeine (27), and trimethoprim (24). Findings suggest that pharmaceutical detections and concentration may be independent, emphasizing the need to monitor risk to biota regardless of exposure diversity, and to focus on risk quantified at the individual level. This study supports the widespread presence of pharmaceuticals in marine systems and shows the utility of applying the H T PC to assess the potential for pharmacological effects, and thus quantify impact of exposure at large spatial scales. [Display omitted] • Pharmaceuticals were detected in all fish from Caribbean coastal ecosystems. • 49 of 102 pharmaceuticals detected and 23 exceeded the 1/3 H T PC. • 39% of fish had pharmaceuticals at concentrations capable of pharmacological effects. • Number of detections and pharmaceutical concentrations varied across regions. • Exposure to pharmacologically active concentrations was unrelated to detections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the characterization of single-mode waveguides for 980 and 1550 nm wavelengths. High quality planar waveguide structure was fabricated from Y1− x Er x Al3(BO3)4 multilayer thin films with x =0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5, prepared through the polymeric precursor and sol-gel methods using spin-coating. The propagation losses of the planar waveguides varying from 0.63 to 0.88 dB/cm were measured at 632.8 and 1550 nm. The photoluminescence spectra and radiative lifetimes of the Er3+ 4I13/2 energy level were measured in waveguiding geometry. For most samples the photoluminescence decay was single exponential with lifetimes in between 640 μs and 200 μs, depending on the erbium concentration and synthesis method. These results indicate that Er doped YAl3(BO3)4 compounds are promising for low loss waveguides. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]