Abstract
Measuring gas and liquid flow rate is paramount in various scientific and industrial applications. This work presents an optical fiber flowmeter based on a graphene oxide (GO) coated Michelson interferometer. The interferometer is fabricated using a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) followed by a GO-coated single-mode fiber (SMF). By radiating the GO coating, it experiences photothermic effect that induces local heating of the film. This results in a variation in the effective refractive index in the cladding modes, which induces a phase shift on the interferometer spectrum. When a gas flow is introduced near the coated fiber, the hot-wire region will experience a reduction in temperature proportional to the flow rate. The flowmeter exhibited a linear wavelength shift to the flow rate with an absolute sensitivity of 17.4 +/- 0.8 pm/(L.min-1) for gas flow rates between 2 and 8 L/ min. Furthermore, the dynamic response of the sensor was studied, attaining a maximum response time of 1.1 +/- 0.4 s

Abstract
Ethionamide (ETH) is an important second-line antituberculosis drug used for the treatment of patients infected with multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Recently, we reported that the loading of ETH into thermally carbonized-porous silicon (TCPSi) nanoparticles enhanced the solubility and permeability of ETH at different pH-values and also increased its metabolization process. Based on these results, we synthesized carboxylic acid functionalized thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon nanoparticles (UnTHCPSi NPs) conjugated with ETH and its antimicrobial effect was evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv. The activity of the conjugate was increased when compared to free-ETH, which suggests that the nature of the synergy between the NPs and ETH is likely due to the weakening of the bacterial cell wall that improves conjugate-penetration. These ETH-conjugated NPs have great potential in reducing dosing frequency of ETH in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Abstract
In this work, an optical fiber flowmeter based on a Michelson interferometer is presented. The Michelson interferometer uses a long period fiber grating (LPFG) to couple light to the cladding modes followed by a section of a GO-coated single mode fiber (SMF). By radiating the GO thin film, it will increase its temperature changing the effective refractive index of the optical cavity of the Michelson interferometer. By placing the sensor on a gas flow, its temperature surface will decrease in a proportional manner to the flow rate. The sensor was studied in both static and dynamic dry nitrogen flow, attaining an absolute sensitivity of 17.4 ± 0.8 pm/(L.min-1) and a maximum response time of 1.1 ± 0.4 s.

Abstract
In this study, different configurations based on linear fiber lasers were proposed and experimentally demonstrated to measure the concentration of liquid solutions. Samples of paracetamol liquid solutions with different concentrations, in the range from 52.61 to 201.33 g/kg, were used as a case-study. The optical gain was provided by a commercial bidirectional Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) and the linear cavity was obtained using two commercial Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs). The main difference of each configuration was the coupling ratio of the optical coupler used to extract the system signal. The sensing head corresponded to a Single-Mode Fiber (SMF) tip that worked as an intensity sensor. The results reveal that, despite the optical coupler used (50:50, 60:40, 70:30 or 80:20), all the configurations reached the laser condition, however, the concentration sensing was only possible using a laser drive current near to the threshold value. The configurations using a 70:30 and an 80:20 optical coupler allowed paracetamol concentration measurements with a higher sensitivity of (-3.00 +/- 0.24) pW/(g/kg) to be performed. In terms of resolution, the highest value obtained was 1.75 g/kg, when it was extracted at 20% of the output power to the linear cavity fiber laser configuration.

Abstract
This paper presents an approach to enhancing sensitivity in optical sensors by integrating self-image theory and graphene oxide coating. The sensor is specifically engineered to quantitatively assess glucose concentrations in aqueous solutions that simulate the spectrum of glucose levels typically encountered in human saliva. Prior to sensor fabrication, the theoretical self-image points were rigorously validated using Multiphysics COMSOL 6.0 software. Subsequently, the sensor was fabricated to a length corresponding to the second self-image point (29.12 mm) and coated with an 80 mu m/mL graphene oxide film using the Layer-by-Layer technique. The sensor characterization in refractive index demonstrated a wavelength sensitivity of 200 +/- 6 nm/RIU. Comparative evaluations of uncoated and graphene oxide-coated sensors applied to measure glucose in solutions ranging from 25 to 200 mg/dL showed an eightfold sensitivity improvement with one bilayer of Polyethyleneimine/graphene. The final graphene oxide-based sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 10.403 +/- 0.004 pm/(mg/dL) and demonstrated stability with a low standard deviation of 0.46 pm/min and a maximum theoretical resolution of 1.90 mg/dL.

Abstract
The generation of short pulses in fiber lasers using saturable absorbers made of graphene oxide (GO), focusing on film thickness, was studied and optimized. The saturable absorber comprised a GO thin film deposited onto a single-mode fiber using the spray coating technique. Water-dispersed GO with a concentration of 4 mg/mL, characterized by a high proportion of monolayer flakes, was employed. This thin film was integrated into a cavity ring laser featuring an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), resulting in a fiber laser emitting at a central emission wavelength of approximately 1564 nm and having a total cavity length of approximately 120 m. By controlling intracavity polarization, short-pulsed light was generated through mode-locking, Q switching, or a combination of both regimes. This work presents a comprehensive characterization of the cavity ring laser operating under the mode-locking regime. It encompasses an analysis of the spectral behavior, focusing on the evolution of the Kelly's sidebands with increasing pump power, as well as an assessment of its temporal stability. Moreover, the effects of the aging of the saturable absorber material were studied after a time period of 6 months after the fabrication. It was observed that the general characteristics of spectral signal of the laser were maintained, with long-term stability .