Elimination reactions have unexpectedly emerged as a novel tool in asymmetric synthesis, offering unique and advantageous approaches for accessing diverse chiral structures. Recent advances in catalytic asymmetric 1,2-elimination reactions leading to carbon–carbon double bonds have been summarized and systematically discussed in three sections, according to distinct synthetic strategies such as desymmetrization to centrally chiral compounds, kinetic resolution of β-substituted carbonyl compounds, and β-elimination to axially chiral compounds. This brief review aims to highlight the significance and sophistication of these three specialized asymmetric elimination pathways in the innovative construction of chiral molecules, while also encouraging the continued growth of this emerging field.

A practical and straightforward metal-free, one-pot protocol has been developed for the synthesis of 3-sulfenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines using the neutral ionic liquid [hmim]Br as both solvent and dual-function promoter. This efficient method integrates cyclocondensation and sulfenylation into a single operation, enabling simultaneous C–N and C–S bond formation without the need for transition-metal catalysts or external oxidants. The reaction proceeds smoothly with readily accessible 2-aminopyridine, phenacyl bromide, and arylsulfonyl chloride, latter being transformed in situ into a thiol equivalent under the same mild and neutral reaction conditions. The protocol also accommodates arylsulfonyl hydrazide and sodium aryl sulfinate as alternative sulfenylating agents. Overall, this one-pot sequential approach offers good functional-group tolerance, a broad substrate scope, avoids hazardous reagents, and aligns well with green chemistry principles through step economy and operational simplicity.

Abstract We developed a one-pot synthetic method combining stepwise, direct C–H bond arylation cyclization and the Mizoroki–Heck reaction for the efficient synthesis of benzo[a]imidazo[2,1,5-c,d]indolizine fluorescent cores. This method has a broad substrate scope and applies to both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing styrene derivatives. Evaluation of the photophysical properties revealed that the benzoimidazoindolizine fluorophores synthesized by this method exhibited a red-shift of up to 40 nm in absorption and fluorescence compared to previously reported biaryl-type compounds.

Abstract Photoinduced reactions of o-iodo, o-bromo, and o-chlorobenzamides have been well-established for the synthesis of isoindolinones; however, the corresponding fluorinated substrates remain underexplored. Herein, we report the photoactivation of fluorobenzamides via a novel charge-transfer complex (CTC) pathway, enabling the efficient synthesis of isoindolinone derivatives. Central to this approach is the formation of a CTC between the tBuOK/DMSO anion and fluorobenzamides under light irradiation. This method is operationally simple, mild, and provides a practical route for accessing isoindolinones.

Abstract A new preparative method for the oxidation of sulfides to their corresponding sulfoxides using hydrogen peroxide in the presence of 5-alkylsulfonyl-1H-tetrazoles has been proposed. The method demonstrates high efficiency for sulfides with aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic substituents. The role of 5-alkylsulfonyl-1H-tetrazoles in the oxidative process has been demonstrated.

Abstract Herein, we report an acid-catalyzed regioselective cyclization reaction for the synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-thiadiazoles and 1,3,4-oxadiazoles. The transformation involves the dehydrative cyclization reaction between α-ketodithioesters and acyl hydrazides in p-TSA/EtOH and the desulfurative cyclization in AcOH/EtOH to form 1,3,4-thiadiazoles and 1,3,4-oxadiazoles, respectively, through a regioselective cyclization manner. Notably, cyclization occurs rapidly at mild reaction conditions under metal-free conditions, demonstrating the operational simplicity and practical applicability of the methodology. The reported procedures exhibit broad functional group compatibility accompanied by good to excellent yields providing a valuable alternative to existing synthetic approaches. Furthermore, the regioselective cyclizations of products were supported by DFT-based mechanistic studies, which provided insights into the selective cyclization pathways.

This paper explores the role of synchrony as a central narrative device in Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire, revealing how temporal alignments transcend mere coincidence to serve complex thematic and ideological functions. Focusing on the intertwined narratives of John Shade and Charles Kinbote, the study examines how Shade’s grief over his daughter Hazel’s suicide is expressed through the alignment of personal tragedy with banal televised broadcasts, transforming simultaneity into a poetic and cognitive mechanism for processing loss. In contrast, Kinbote strategically manipulates synchrony to impose his self-mythologizing agenda, fabricating connections between Shade’s poem and Gradus’s violent journey to assert narrative control and distort reality. The paper argues that these contrasting uses of synchrony reflect broader formal and philosophical concerns in the novel, highlighting the instability of temporal perception and the subjective nature of narrative construction. By situating synchrony as both a structural principle and a metanarrative strategy, this analysis bridges literary theory and cognitive psychology, illuminating Nabokov’s intricate interplay of narrative layers and the interpretive demands placed on readers. Pale Fire dramatizes the human impulse to find coherence amid chaos through cognitive pattern recognition, raising profound questions about authorship, authority, and the quest for meaning in simultaneity.

After years of emphasizing translation primarily as a way of bringing “newness into the world” (Bhabha), scholars have recently renewed their interest in translation’s relationship to the past, referring to it as a recovery of lost time or as the (Benjaminian) “afterlife” of past texts. Those who are specifically concerned with the translation of philosophical and theoretical texts now also focus on “untranslatables” that continually produce new translations. So far, this has mostly been seen as a means to emancipate the history of theory from the tyranny of linear time, but it also caters to a discourse that rethinks translation as a way of doing both theory and its history. What unites all these approaches is that they exclusively understand the past that translation relates to as the past of the source text. As the paper claims, however, translation can also function as a means to recover and, potentially, (re)write the history of the receiving context. This is discussed by drawing on the example of the translation of French structuralism and, especially, of Roland Barthes in Czechoslovakia in the second half of the 1960s which significantly contributes to the “recovery” of the local structuralist tradition of the interwar period that had been muted first by the war and, subsequently, by Stalinist cultural politics. Besides the first-ever book-length translation of Barthes’ into Czech (Nulový stupeň rukopisu – Základy sémiologie, 1967), it also examines hitherto unstudied material from the archive of Československý spisovatel, the publisher responsible for the translation’s release.

Abstract The construction of nitrogen-rich heterocycles is a cornerstone in developing high-energy-density materials (HEDMs). Ethyl 3-ethoxy-3-iminopropanoate hydrochloride (EEIP·HCl) has proven to be a particularly powerful precursor, offering a reliable and versatile route to make several nitrogen-rich frameworks. Its ability to streamline ring formation has enabled the synthesis of high-performing energetic compounds with desirable densities, stabilities, and detonation properties. This article reviews EEIP-mediated cyclizations in energetic materials, underscoring its exceptional synthetic utility, broad structural scope, and growing role in advancing next-generation, environmentally sustainable explosives.