Appropriate aryl-substituted unsymmetrical azodicarbonyl compounds, generated from bishydrazides by oxidation, undergo intramolecular cyclisations to furnish a variety of useful heterocycles such as N-substituted oxindoles, carbostyrils, benzazepinones, benzazocinones, benzimidazolones, benzoxazinones and pyrazolones in varying degrees of efficiency. Methods are described to remove the N-acyl groups from the heteroaromatic compounds. Under mildly acidic conditions where equal opportunities are available for an ipso or a normal cyclisation it is the former process that occurs preferentially. Evidence is presented in favour of a C-to-C migration in the ipso product for the formation of a methoxy-substituted carbostyril derivative. One of the spiro substances is shown to participate in dienone–phenol rearrangement to provide the corresponding quinolone–phenol in high yield.

This study aimed to understand university staff’s perspectives and approaches regarding students’ use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in an academic setting. Currently, there is a lack of social media analyses exploring this area. For the present study, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on posts about ChatGPT shared via X (formerly Twitter). This enabled a sample of n = 194 perspectives to be captured. Three main themes were generated: (1) perceptions of GenAI’s impact on higher education and skepticism towards its management; (2) GenAI in assessment: prevention and detection approaches; and (3) future-focused approaches to GenAI-enhanced learning and assessment. Some university staff see GenAI as a threat to their profession and have stressed the need for university guidance. Staff discussed both the positive and negative impacts of GenAI on student learning. Some staff want to prevent the use of GenAI in assessments, whilst others embrace the tool. These findings can inform university guidance on the use of GenAI in the future.

University students are typically highly sedentary, which is associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Attempts to understand university students’ sedentary behaviour have typically focused on on-campus teaching and learning activities. While such research has documented that students perceive studying as one of the main barriers to reducing sedentary behaviour, there is little understanding of how and why studying incurs sitting, especially during home-based studying. We investigated how students’ experience sitting when studying at home. Fourteen UK undergraduates (10 female; mean age = 20 years) participated in semi-structured interviews that explored their experiences, beliefs, and attitudes regarding sitting while studying at home. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four themes were constructed, focusing on knowledge and attitudes towards sitting, prioritisation of study tasks, sitting as an integral part of the study environment, and sitting as part of the optimal mental ‘zone’. Whilst participants demonstrated awareness of the potential health risks associated with prolonged sitting they prioritised productivity when studying at home and believed that interrupting their sitting would compromise productivity, making home-based studying particularly conducive to sedentary behaviour. These findings suggest that intervention designers should more explicitly consider the home environment when aiming to reduce student sedentary behaviour and should seek to reduce sitting in a way that promotes, or at least does not interfere with, productivity.