In the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland), numerous former workings have been left unprotected after the liquidation of mines in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The workings have been located at low depths. The paper presents the results of strength tests of wood samples acquired from linings in former workings, and the obtained results have been compared to the results achieved in tests of samples of wood intended to be used in a reconstruction of a historic gallery. The tests consisted in determining the bending strength of wood in compliance with the applicable Polish standard. The results showed that the wood from historic mines was characterised by high variability of bending strength – usually much lower than that of the wood intended for construction. Too low bending strength of timber may result in caving in shallow excavation and lead to sinkhole creation on the surface.

The essay argues that Paul Kingsnorth’s novel The Wake is written in the spirit of the eighteenth-century pastoral tradition. The medievalist trope of primitivism is used in reference to the Anglo-Saxon culture and language. What characterizes the medievalism of the novel is presentism. Buccmaster represents both the Wild Man and the Noble Savage type. In the pastoral manner, Kingsnorth writes in the spirit of anthropocentrism and focuses on the social classes in the early medieval world that he “greens” in the novel.

Electrochemical amperometric gas sensors represent a well-established and versatile type of devices with unique features: good sensitivity and stability, short response/recovery times, and low power consumption. These sensors operate at room temperature, and therefore have been applied in monitoring air pollutants and detection of toxic and hazardous gases in a number of areas. Some drawbacks of classical electrochemical sensors are overcome by the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) based on ionic liquids. This work presents evaluation of an SPE-based amperometric sensor from the point of view of current fluctuations. The sensor is based on a novel three-electrode sensor platform with solid polymer electrolytes containing ionic liquid for detection of nitrogen dioxide − a highly toxic gas that is harmful to the environment and presenting a possible threat to human health even at low concentrations. The paper focuses on using noise measurement (electric current fluctuation measurement) for evaluation of electrochemical sensors which were constructed by different fabrication processes: (i) lift-off and drop-casting technology, (ii) screen printing technology on a ceramic substrate and (iii) screen printing on a flexible substrate.