Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of a bidentate NS Schiff base of <i>S</i>-benzyl dithiocarbazate and its divalent complexes

<p>The reaction of S-benzyl dithiocarbazate (SBDTC) with 2,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde afforded a bidentate NS Schiff base <b>1</b> (benzyl-3-<i>N</i>-(2,4,5-trimethoxyphenylmethylenehydrazine carbodithioate), which on further reaction with M(II) (where M(II) = nickel(II), zinc(II), palladium(II) and copper(II)) in ethanol under reflux yielded bis-chelated inner complexes [ML₂] <b>2</b>–<b>5</b> with deprotonated L. The ligand and its complexes were characterized by physicochemical techniques, <i>viz.</i>, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurement, IR, NMR, UV–Vis and mass spectroscopic techniques. The crystal structures of <b>1</b> and <b>5</b> were also determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The crystal structure analysis showed that the ligand exists in its thione tautomeric form. In the complexes, each of the two deprotonated ligands chelated the metal ions through the <i>β</i>-nitrogen and the thione sulfur forming five-membered rings. The copper(II) complex (<b>5</b>) exhibited a square-planar geometry, where the two N₂S₂ chromophores are arranged <i>trans</i>. All the compounds showed strong antibacterial activity against <i>S.</i>-<i>β</i>-<i>hemolyticus</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoni</i>, and <i>Escherichia coli</i>. The compounds also showed strong antifungal activity against <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>, <i>Aspergillus niger</i>, <i>Aspergillus flavus</i>, and <i>Candida albicans</i> with the exception of the palladium(II) complex (<b>4</b>) which showed no activity, while all the compounds showed no activity against <i>Fusarium vasinfectum</i>.</p

Blending of political and media power: The case of Radek John and his programme Bez cenzury

This thesis considers the role of former politician and journalist Radek John in an investigative programme Bez cenzury on TV Barrandov. Even though John was a politician and leader of Czech political party Věci veřejné, he decided to return to journalism. He did so with no intention of resigning his chair in the Chamber of Deputies, part of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. With this in mind, this could be considered as a specific representation of political parallelism. This study describes specific cases where Radek John might have acted contrary to normative journalistic values and journalism ethics. Furthermore, the thesis analyses the possibility that Radek John's own political interests and opinions affected the television programme itself. The research is conducted using the method of a case study which combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis, qualitative interviews and other research methods. Consequently, the analysis found signs of biased reporting in the programme's introduction and some stories, which reflected Radek John's antipathy towards traditional political parties and their leaders. However, the research did not reveal any direct support of Věci veřejné or their representatives. Furthermore, the thesis also presents media, academic and political responses to..

Visualization 5: Integral imaging microscopy with enhanced depth-of-field using a spatial multiplexing

Visualization 5 Originally published in Optics Express on 08 February 2016 (oe-24-3-2072