Abstract
The combustion of coal wastes resulting from mining is of particular environmental concern, and the importance of proper management involving real-time assessment of their status and identification of probable evolution scenarios is recognized. Continuous monitoring of the combustion temperature and emission levels of certain gases allows for the possibility of planning corrective actions to minimize their negative impact on the surroundings. Optical fiber technology is well suited to this purpose and here we describe the main attributes and results obtained from a fiber optic sensing system projected to gather data on distributed temperature and gas emissions in these harsh environments.

Abstract
A Fabry-Perot interferometer based on an array of soda-lime glass microspheres is proposed for temperature sensing. The microspheres are introduced in a hollow-core silica tube using a tapered fiber tip. After the insertion of each microsphere the sensor is subjected to temperature measurements. The sensor exhibits non-linear behavior and a dependence on the number of microspheres is observed. A maximum sensitivity of 11.13 pm/degrees C is achieved, when there is only one microsphere inside the capillary structure.

Abstract
Long period fibre gratings (LPFG) have found an increasing interest due to the easy fabrication in any kind of fibre through the induced electric arc technique with low cost and flexibility. They have been used in applications such as gain-flattening and band-rejection, and for sensing strain, temperature and chemical and biological parameters. The sensitivity of LPFG increases when the fibre is coated with certain thin films. In this short review it is presented the recent developments and applications of these kind of sensors.

Abstract
Optical Tweezers (OT) are able to trap/manipulate dielectric particles with few microns in a contactless manner due to forces exerted on them by a strongly focused optical beam. OT are being applied in Biology/Medicine, especially Optical Fiber Tweezers (OFT), for being simpler and more flexible than the conventional setups. Despite of the trapping phenomena of symmetrical particles by OFTs being already modeled, effects regarding complex bodies remain poorly understood. Here we provide a 2D characterization of the trapping forces exerted by a laser OFT on a geometric form of a Red Blood Cell (RBC), occupying different positions in a grid, using the method proposed by Barnett&Loudon. Comparisons were made between the forces exerted on a RBC having the mean normal size; a RBC with 80% of the normal size and an 1.5µm circular particle, due to the size and shape variability of biological-derived structures. The influence of RBCs inclination angles regarding its major axis on trapping performance was also evaluated for angles of p/4 and p/2. Simulation results showed that trapping phenomena are possible for all the conditions evaluated, as well as calculated trapping forces range was according with the literature (pN). We observed that, despite of modeled particles having the same optical characteristics, features such as particle geometry, size, position and inclination degree influence trapping. Trapping forces magnitude was higher for RBC relatively to the circular symmetrical particle; for large RBCs than RBCs with smaller dimensions; and for inclined RBCs than erythrocytes horizontally aligned. Those results reinforce the importance of modeling optical experiments to determine relevant parameters which affect trapping performance. © 2017 IEEE.

Abstract
A computational method for optical fiber trapping of healthy and Malariainfected blood cells characterization is proposed. A trapping force relation with the infection stage was found, which could trigger the development of a diagnostic sensor. © OSA 2017.

Abstract
A long-period grating (LPG) written on a standard single mode fiber is investigated as a fiber optic sensor for vibration and magnetic field sensing. It is demonstrated the high sensitivity of the device to applied curvature and the possibility to monitor vibration in a wide range of frequencies from 30 Hz to 2000 Hz. The system was tested using intensity-based interrogation scheme, providing a frequency discrimination of 913 mHz. The goal of these tests was to evaluate the sensor as a passive vibration monitor in the detection of changes in resonant vibration frequencies of support infrastructures can provide information on its degradation. Furthermore, taking advantage of the intrinsic sensitivity to micro strain, alternating magnetic fields were also measured using an intensity-based interrogation scheme by coupling a Terfenol-D magnetostrictive rod to a pre-strained LPG sensor, providing a resolution below 5.61 mu T-rms/root Hz from 1.22 mT(rms) up to 2.53 mT(rms).