Let ℜ be the class of commutative rings R with comparable regular elements, that is, given two non zero-divisors in R, one divides the other. Applying the notion of V-valuation due to Harrison and Vitulli, we define the class V-val of V-valuated rings, which is contained in ℜ and contains the class of Manis valuation rings. We prove that these inclusions of classes are both proper. We investigate Prüfer rings inside ℜ, showing that there exist Prüfer rings which lie in ℜ but not in V-val; we prove that a ring R is a Prüfer valuation ring if and only if it is Prüfer and V-valuated, if and only if its lattice of regular ideals is a chain. Finally, we introduce and investigate the ideal I∞ of a ring R ∈ ℜ, which corresponds to the counterimage of ∞, whenever R is V-valuated.

An extension R1 of a right chain ring R is called immediate if R1 has the same residue division ring and the same lattice of principal right ideals as R. Properties of such immediate extensions are studied. It is proved that for every R, maximal immediate extensions exist, but that in contrast to the commutative case maximal right chain rings are not necessarily linearly compact.

For any ring S we define and describe its characteristic ring, k(S). It plays the rôle of the usual characteristic even in rings whose additive structure, (S, +), is complicated. The ring k(S) is an invariant of (S, +) and also reflects certain non-additive properties of S. If R is a left faithful ring without identity element, we show how to use k(R) to embed R in a ring R1 with identity. This unital overring of R inherits many ring properties of R; for instance, if R is artinian, noetherian, semiprime Goldie, regular, biregular or a V-ring, so too is R1. In the case of regularity (or generalizations thereof), R1 satisfies a universal property with respect to the adjunction of an identity

Throughout this note the letters D and K denote a commutative integral domain with 1 and its field of fractions.

A Boolean-like ring R is a commutative ring with unity in which 2x = 0 and xy(1 + x)(1 + y) = 0 hold for all elements x, y of the ring R. It is shown in this paper that in the category of Boolean-like rings, R is injective if and only if R is a complete Boolean ring and R is projective if and only if R = {0, 1}.