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Brilliant in its simplicity, Southwell’s method of experimentally determining the critical force on the basis of the so-called Southwell diagram has been of interest to structural stability specialists since its presentation in 1932. In its original version, the correctness of the Southwell method was proved for compressed bars with a constant cross section and showing the loss of stability only within the elastic range while maintaining the constant value of Young's modulus. In numerous works on the method, proposals for its modification have emerged ensuring the extension of the scope of applications with problems other than the classic buckling of a compressed bar. There has also been an attempt to justify the correctness of Southwell’s method in the case of a bar with a variable cross section. This paper presents a strict solution of the differential equation of bar stability with a parabolic variable moment of inertia of the cross section and a parabolic form of initial geometric imperfections. The solution arrived at with the use of the Mathematica™ system was the basis for constructing the Southwell diagram and justifying the correctness of the method for this particular case of a bar. To confirm the correctness of Southwell’s method also the numerical approach exploiting FEM was adopted. Two different cases of column’s shape variabilities and different boundary conditions were considered.

The paper deals with a shape optimisation procedure of steel, compressed bars. Circular hollow sections (CHS) of variable cross sections and variable wall thickness are taken into account. The proposed procedure for designing of steel rods exhibiting maximum compression resistance is effective and possible to use in engineering practice. The advantage of the proposed shape of the bar is that it allows to increase the value of its load carrying capacity, i.e. it ensures the transfer of a higher value of compressive force than similar, solid struts of the same mass and length. The extent of the increase in the load capacity relative to the load capacity of the reference solid, cylindrical bar depends on the slenderness of the reference bar and ranges from 60% to 170%. Due to this very beneficial fact, it can be used wherever it is required to maintain a certain stiffness and an increased value of compressive force is desired, as well as in constructions where it is necessary to reduce weight while maintaining the adopted mechanical parameters, e.g. values of load bearing capacity. Final results achieved in the research were presented in the form of the flow chart allowing to design the compressed columns of optimum shape.

It seems that the awareness of the idea of human dignity as the cornerstone of infrangible human rights has become today an axiom widely accepted in Western civilisation. Pope John Paul II played a major role in the popularisation of this idea. Undoubtedly, the teachings of John Paul II were a call not only for Catholics, but for all the people of good will – stressing that human dignity, which respects each and every life, may become the basis the most important values in society: democracy and peace. In the papal teaching set out in the encyclicals, the right to life is not only a determinant of human dignity, but also a factor which enables the development of the common good. For John Paul II, the category of human dignity became the cornerstone of human rights, and it seems to be an unconditional concept that can be accepted by all – both Christians and adherents to other faiths, as well as atheists – as the basis of society. The current pope, just like his predecessors, regards the concepts of dignitas humana and bonum commune as the cornerstones of the social teaching of the papacy. In the view of Pope Francis, human rights are derived from the inalienable human dignity.

Artykuł stanowi analizę egipskiego prawa rozwodowego według procedury khula, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem ustawy nr 1 z 2000 roku. Autor stara się wykazać, że uchwalenie tego prawa było krokiem milowym na drodze do równouprawnienia kobiet w prawie małżeńskim. Poprzednie rozwiązania prawne uzależniały uzyskanie rozwodu z inicjatywy żony od spełnienia przez nią szeregu przesłanek lub zgody męża. Nowatorstwo rozwiązań wprowadzonych ustawą nr 1 z 2000 roku polega na tym, że rozwód nie jest uzależniony od zgody męża lub sędziego. Jest on raczej uzależniony od rezygnacji przez żonę z roszczeń finansowych wobec męża przysługujących jej zgodnie z szariatem, które wynikają z kontraktu małżeńskiego lub przepisów prawa.

The shape of the optimal rod determined in the work meets the condition of mass conservation in relation to the reference rod. At the same time, this rod shows a significant increase in resistance to axial force. In the examples presented, this increase was 80% and 117%, respectively, for rods with slenderness of 125 and 175. A practical benefit from the use of compression rods of the proposed shapes is clearly visible. The example presented in this publication shows how great the utility in the structural mechanics can be, resulting from the applications of complex analysis (complex numbers). This approach to many problems can find its solutions, while they are lacking in the real numbers domains. What is more, although these are operations on complex numbers, these solutions have often their real representations, as the numerical example shows. There are too few applications of complex numbers in the technique and science, therefore it is obvious that the use of complex analysis should have an increasing range. One of the first people to use complex numbers was Girolamo Cardano. Cardano, using complex numbers, was solving cubic equations, unsolvable to his times – as the famous Franciscan and professor of mathematics Luca Pacioli put it in his paper Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (1494). It is worth mentioning that history has given Cardano priority in the use of complex numbers, but most probably they were discovered by another professor of mathematics – Scipione del Ferro (cf. [1]). We can see, that already then, they were definitely important (complex numbers).

As we approach the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century—at the moment when more people live in the cities than anywhere else—there comes a time to ponder on the role and the condition of urban cultural heritage. In times of growth, urbanization and rapid development, the city may be described as a modern battlefield of cultural heritage protection, often faced with the choice between protection and conservation, or destruction and redevelopment. This article seeks to analyse the means of protection of urban cultural heritage—a common, which is local (it takes a vital part in the creation of identity) and global (it is a part of a universal heritage) at the same time—in the international law, and to look into ways of its successful management. The first part of the article looks at the concept of the urban cultural heritage, and the second part examines the two main UNESCO conventions concerning cultural heritage protection, namely, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, to establish whether or not they are successful tools in protecting the urban cultural heritage. The third part focuses on analysing a new approach towards urban cultural heritage advocated by UNESCO, based on the 2011 recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), giving examples of its successful (Amsterdam, Ballarat, Cuenca) and unsuccessful application (Stockholm, Hong Kong, Macau). In the fourth part, the author suggests ways of effective governance of the urban cultural heritage in the twenty-first century, from the viewpoint of sustainable urban development, focusing on the role of cultural heritage in the city’s growth, and in the creation of identity and collective memories. The concluding part of the article seeks for an answer to the question of a need for a new UNESCO convention.

IS THE NATURE OF ISLAM TOTALITARIAN?In the article the author presents selected threads in the debate about analogies between Islam understood as an overwhelming ideology and totalitarianism. In his view, despite many similarities Islam cannot be regarded as atotalitarian system, if totalitarianism denotes the form of political system that emerged in the 20th century. Islam is aunique ideological model and totalitarianism is not its best equivalent. It would be more appropriate to call Islam asystem of total theocracy, in which the power to pronounce judgements is often vested in lawyer theologians independent of the state apparatus.

As many researchers have pointed out, the past two decades have seen ‘a hypertrophy of memory’. Never before have so many different disciplines investigated the mysteries behind the ways we remember, trying to show that memory does influence various sciences, from sociology, to law, to literature. This article ventures to outline the scope of these investigations, looking at memory from a different, broad perspective. Following a short introduction, section two focuses on the ‘technical’ details of memory, explaining how our mind remembers (and forgets), and remarking upon the so-called ‘sins of memory’. Section article addresses social aspects of memory, in particular the notion of collective memory. The author explains this increasingly popular term, introducing several other interconnected expressions. Section four focuses on cultural dimensions of memory. It first outlines, then analyses the relationship memory and philosophy have had through the ages, showing how the perceptions of the latter have changed. Next, the author evokes the once popular, nowadays slightly forgotten discipline, known as mnemotechnics, or ‘art of memory’. Section five is devoted to the relations between literature and memory. The article first explains how, in many ways, memory influences literature and then argues that literature is one of the best grounds to observe how different mechanisms of memory work. Thus, the author analyses three contemporary works, Marcel Proust’s In the Search of Lost Time, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz’s Maidens of Wilko, and Czeslaw Mislosz’s Lost Places, showing how they can help us unveil some of memory’s mysteries. In the last part of the essay, the author investigates the ties between international law and collective memory. Giving insight into this unobvious relationship, on the examples of present-day Argentina and Germany, the article notes that international law both influences and is influenced by collective memory.

Within the presented research rods exhibiting the maximum buckling resistance are looked for. It was assumed that they have to possess the same mass and the same length as a solid cylindrical bar treated as the reference one. Nonprismatic rods of circular hollow cross-section and of variable wall thickness were only included into considerations. It was assumed that the external and internal surfaces of revolution were defined by some assumed in advance smooth functions. Three different classes of functions were used in the research, and namely: polynomial of the second order, sine and hyperbolic cosine functions. The classical optimization problem was defined by the objective function which was the buckling force, being maximized with appropriate constraints. Design variables were three independent geometrical parameters defining uniquely the sought bar shape. All derivations were carried out analytically by means of MathematicaTM system. The presented procedure was illustrated by two examples. The obtained increase of the critical force was dependent on the slenderness of the reference bar and reached the value 40 in the case of the longer, considered reference bar.Within the presented research rods exhibiting the maximum buckling resistance are looked for. It was assumed that they have to possess the same mass and the same length as a solid cylindrical bar treated as the reference one. Nonprismatic rods of circular hollow cross-section and of variable wall thickness were only included into considerations. It was assumed that the external and internal surfaces of revolution were defined by some assumed in advance smooth functions. Three different classes of functions were used in the research, and namely: polynomial of the second order, sine and hyperbolic cosine functions. The classical optimization problem was defined by the objective function which was the buckling force, being maximized with appropriate constraints. Design variables were three independent geometrical parameters defining uniquely the sought bar shape. All derivations were carried out analytically by means of MathematicaTM system. The presented procedure was illustrated by two examples. The obtain...

Według autora artykułu papież Franciszek, tak jak jego poprzednicy, za fundament nauczania społecznego uważa idee dignitas humana i bonum commune. To właśnie dzięki temu, że ludzie posiadają niezbywalną godność, przysługują im prawa człowieka. Papież odrzuca ideologię marksistowską i apeluje o chrześcijańskie rozumienie własności prywatnej. Silny nacisk kładzie na ochronę środowiska naturalnego i wzywa do stosowania opcji preferencyjnej na rzecz ubogich. Opowiada się też za tradycyjnym, katolickim rozumieniem rodziny jako związku mężczyzny i kobiety oraz akceptuje istniejące pomiędzy nimi różnice. W oparciu o powyższe zasadna jest teza, że nauczanie społeczne papieża Franciszka nie odbiega zasadniczo od nauczania jego poprzedników.

Recently we reported on 2 H -4,6-dimethyl-2-[(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]-3-oxo-2,3-dihydroisothiazolo[5,4- b ]pyridine ( V ), which exhibited high anorectic action in animal models as a result of stimulation of serotoninergic system. This paper describes the synthesis of the series 3 – 5 of analogues of V prepared from 2-hydroxymethyl-4,6-dimethylisothiazolopyridine ( 2 ) and corresponding 4-substituted-piperazines(piperidines) or tetrahydroisoquinoline. The 12 compounds obtained were screened in standard CNS tests in in vivo (mice and rats). In contrast to V , none of its analogues showed serotoninergic activity, whereas several of these compounds were found to be active as weak to moderate analgesic agents. According to X-ray and molecular modeling studies the different pharmacological profile of V and its o -OCH 3 analog 3a , taken as an example, should be referred back to the conformational restriction incorporated by the o -substitution rather than effects of different lipophlicity or basicity of these compounds.

Recently we reported on 2 H -4,6-dimethyl-2-[(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]-3-oxo-2,3-dihydroisothiazolo[5,4- b ]pyridine ( V ), which exhibited high anorectic action in animal models as a result of stimulation of serotoninergic system. This paper describes the synthesis of the series 3 – 5 of analogues of V prepared from 2-hydroxymethyl-4,6-dimethylisothiazolopyridine ( 2 ) and corresponding 4-substituted-piperazines(piperidines) or tetrahydroisoquinoline. The 12 compounds obtained were screened in standard CNS tests in in vivo (mice and rats). In contrast to V , none of its analogues showed serotoninergic activity, whereas several of these compounds were found to be active as weak to moderate analgesic agents. According to X-ray and molecular modeling studies the different pharmacological profile of V and its o -OCH 3 analog 3a , taken as an example, should be referred back to the conformational restriction incorporated by the o -substitution rather than effects of different lipophlicity or basicity of these compounds.

Synthesis of amides of 7-methyl-3-phenyl-2,4-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid (6–10) and their 1-[2-hydroxy-3(4-phenyl-1-piperazinyl)propyl] derivatives (11–15) are described. Some of them displayed strong analgesic activity.