The assessment of a rock’s behaviour around excavations and the effectiveness of its reinforcement in underground ore mines is dependent on the performance of the rock-bolt and rock-mass interaction, which can be estimated on the basis of appropriately designed measurements. Based on the background of various measurements solutions described in the literature, concerning rock bolt monitoring methods, the authors proposed a new, original device for mass measurements in mine conditions. After examining the advantages and disadvantages of existing constructions, the article presents the essence, principle of operation and method of measuring anchor load in an underground excavation with the a instrument, indicator WK-2/8. The prototype has been carefully researched and successfully tested in a full-scale laboratory environment. This instrument, also referred to as a load indicator or force pad, does not require electrical power and allows for relatively accurate (with a resolution of 10-14kN, up to about 90kN loading capacity) and a remote reading of the axle loading of the anchor (AGH patent) by any person present in the specified area. The device can be installed in mining excavations under loading conditions. The relatively low cost of a measuring instrument, practically used as an additional washer, as well as an easy assembly method, makes it universally applicable in mines where anchoring is used as a means of strengthening the rock.

Observations on the incidence, harmfulness and some elements of Cameraria ohridella control on white horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) were carried out in Wrocław, Poland, in 2001–2003. Three generations of the pest developed on A. hippocastanum. The leaf infestation by pest’s larvae increased systematically throughout the spring-summer season. Cultural control by removing the fallen leaves was suggested. Using this procedure, the abundance of the pest was considerably reduced, therefore, the percentage of the leaf damage was lower and the trees lost these leaves later in the season.

This paper describes a synthetic aperture radar system for tactical-level imagery intelligence installed on board an unmanned aerial vehicle. Selected results of its tests are provided. The system contains interchange-able S-band and Ku-band linear frequency-modulated, continuous wave radar sensors that were built within a frame of a research project named WATSAR, conducted by the Military University of Technology and WB Electronics S.A. One of several algorithms of radar image synthesis, implemented in the scope of the project, is described in this paper. The WATSAR system can create online and off-line radar images.

In this paper, we present a synthesis of the parameters of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and the reconstruction of the distributed strain affecting the grating, performed by means of its reflection spectrum. For this purpose, we applied the transition matrix method and the Nelder-Mead nonlinear optimization method. Reconstruction results of the strain profile carried out on the basis of a simulated reflection spectrum as well as measured reflection spectrum of the FBG indicate good agreement with the original strain profile; the profile reconstruction errors are within the single digit percentage range. We can conclude that the Nelder-Mead optimization method combined with the transition matrix method can be used for distributed sensing problems.

The article is devoted to an unpublished diary of Karol Firganek (1840 –1913), an insurgent. In 1863 Karol was a fresh employee of the Lviv stretch of the railway of Archduke Charles Louis. In the summer of 1863 Firganek joined the uprising in a detachment which entered Congress Poland from Galicia. On 15 July, he participated in the famous defence of the manor at Glanów, which he described in detail. He returned to the uprising in December. He fought in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, where he was promoted to the rank of an officer. In May 1864 Karol Firganek was taken captive and was convicted, but was freed as an Austrian subject and returned to work on the railways, reaching the high position of an inspector. His diary was kept by his children living in Stanisławów (currently called Ivanofrankivsk, Ukraine) – initially his son Kazimierz, and then his daughter Jadwiga, who remained in the family house, while the rest of the family was displaced in 1946 in connection with the change of the borders of Poland and the USSR. In 1964 Bolesław Suszka, Karol’s granddaughter’s, Janina’s, husband, received the diary from Jadwiga during his trip to the USSR, and managed to illegally bring it to Poland. Copies of the diary are kept in the Kórnik library and in the Ossolineum library in Wrocław. The original copy belongs to Janina and Bolesław Suszek from Kórnik.

The inevitability and successive implementation of the elements of the European Union (EU) energy policy and the freedom of achieving the goals left in this regard for the member states should translate into actions taking the specificity of local markets into account, in order to carry out liberalization processes in a harmonious manner. In 2016, the European Commission published a package of guidance documents “Clean Energy for All Europeans” in the perspective of 2030, also known as the Winter Package. The recommendations contained in some of the documents assume the continuation of integration of markets in the national and regional dimension, setting ambitious targets in the field of decarbonization, the increase of energy efficiency and the increase of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) share in the energy balance of EU countries. The short time to carry out a thorough reconstruction of the energy-generating sector forces to seek solutions that are in line with the European Community recommendations and, at the same time, do not constitute an excessive burden for the national economy and legal order. One of the activities is to use the potential of micro-networks of local communities striving for energy independence based on their own energy sources and to create regulations enabling the neighborly exchange of energy. This mechanism works in the form of pilot projects in many locations around the world (Sonnen Group; Power Ledger). The paper presents the concept of functional and analytical assumptions for an exemplary structure of neighboring prosumers along with the presentation of simulation results based on real generation and consumption profiles and the presentation of investment profitability indicators for the proposed functional model.

The transformation processes that occur in the technical, informational, and economic spheres of the regions require the development of new conceptual approaches to the development of a full-fledged land use system based on an analysis of the problems of using underground real estate. Determination of the features of land use of underground real estate is based on a quantitative basis, which is built on a systematic, integrated approach. Indicators that determine the condition and use of underground real estate are of particular importance for the development of the approach. A method of estimating a generalized indicator of the use of underground real estate in the system of land use of regions based on an integrated approach, which includes the method of expert assessments by applying qualitative indicators characterizing the status and level of use of underground real estate, considering urban, spatial, investment and innovation legal and safety features is developed. The assessment results of the integrated indicator of underground real estate land use, as well as the results of the assessment by region, showed a low level of use of underground real estate in the land use system of the regions. It is determined that most of the lands in the regions have low levels of underground real estate use. Besides, there is a need to increase the use of underground real estate by developing appropriate methodological recommendations.