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The rapid development of technology in today’s times make business’ survival a rather complex task. It is therefore necessary for the specialized organization and administration of each company to differentiate and strengthen its competitive advantages. Gamification is an established practice in many business domains and can enforce employees to engage in business processes and change aspects of their behavior. Even though numerous gamification patterns that are described in literature have been used so far by businesses to various working environments, the outcomes were not the best possible that we would expect in terms of their right utilization to business non-game contexts. Thus, there is need for concise gamification patterns that can offer right guidance to game designers in business. Gamification design patterns can provide a distilled knowledge of techniques of how to design object-oriented software. This paper aims to address this gap in existing literature by describing new gamification design patterns, classifying them according to specific criteria and providing new information to this research domain. Our study is a descriptive literature review and is based on review of previous works. This descriptive literature review tries to give a better understanding by proposing new gamification design patterns in the continuously evolving research domain of gamification design patterns.

Targeting T cell malignancies using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is hindered by ‘T v T’ fratricide against shared antigens such as CD3 and CD7. Base editing offers the possibility of seamless disruption of gene expression of problematic antigens through creation of stop codons or elimination of splice sites. We describe the generation of fratricide-resistant T cells by orderly removal of TCR/CD3 and CD7 ahead of lentiviral-mediated expression of CARs specific for CD3 or CD7. Molecular interrogation of base-edited cells confirmed elimination of chromosomal translocations detected in conventional Cas9 treated cells. Interestingly, 3CAR/7CAR co-culture resulted in ‘self-enrichment’ yielding populations 99.6% TCR−/CD3−/CD7−. 3CAR or 7CAR cells were able to exert specific cytotoxicity against leukaemia lines with defined CD3 and/or CD7 expression as well as primary T-ALL cells. Co-cultured 3CAR/7CAR cells exhibited highest cytotoxicity against CD3 + CD7 + T-ALL targets in vitro and an in vivo human:murine chimeric model. While APOBEC editors can reportedly exhibit guide-independent deamination of both DNA and RNA, we found no problematic ‘off-target’ activity or promiscuous base conversion affecting CAR antigen-specific binding regions, which may otherwise redirect T cell specificity. Combinational infusion of fratricide-resistant anti-T CAR T cells may enable enhanced molecular remission ahead of allo-HSCT for T cell malignancies.

Smart contracts are vulnerable to critical, design-level Business Logic Flaws (BLFs) that conventional analysis tools often fail to detect. To address this semantic gap, this study introduces a novel ontological framework that formally models the link between high-level architectural intent and low-level Sui Move code. The methodology employs a rigorous Linked Open Terms (LOT) approach to construct a comprehensive ontology, integrated with a library of secure design patterns and process-aware Object-Centric Dynamic Condition Response (OC-DCR) graphs. Qualitative validation was conducted on four canonical security patterns (Access Control, Circuit Breaker, Time Incentivization, Escapability) drawn from the official Sui Framework, confirming the framework’s representational adequacy and logical consistency. Ultimately, this work contributes the first machine-readable semantic layer for Sui Move, decoupling reasoning from raw code availability, and providing the essential semantic foundation for the future development of pattern-aware auditing tools.

For high rate water electrolysers, minimising Ohmic losses through efficient gas bubble evacuation away from the active electrode is as important as minimising activation losses by improving the electrode’s electrocatalytic properties. In this work, by a combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach, we identify the topological parameters of flow-engineered 3-D electrodes that direct their performance towards enhanced bubble evacuation. In particular, we show that integrating Ni-based foam electrodes into a laterally-graded bi-layer zero-gap cell configuration allows for alkaline water electrolysis to become Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)-like, even when keeping a state-of-the-art Zirfon diaphragm. Detailed CFD simulations, explicitly taking into account the entire 3-D electrode and cell topology, show that under a forced uniform upstream electrolyte flow, such a graded structure induces a high lateral velocity component in the direction normal to and away from the diaphragm. This work is therefore an invitation to start considering PEM-like cell designs for alkaline water electrolysis as well, in particular the use of square or rectangular electrodes in flow-through type electrochemical cells. Efficient gas bubble removal is crucial for high-rate water electrolysis aimed at optimizing hydrogen production. Here, the authors show that integrating 3-D foam electrodes into a specially designed cell configuration enables alkaline water electrolysis to perform comparably to advanced systems, thereby enhancing overall efficiency.

RNA polymerase III (Pol III) promoters express short non-coding RNAs and have been adopted for expression of microRNA, interference RNA, and CRISPR single guide RNA (sgRNA). Vectors incorporating H1 and U6 Pol III promoters are being applied for therapeutic genome editing, including multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 effects. We report a nucleosome-depleted, minimal U6 promoter, which when embedded within lentiviral long terminal repeat (LTR) regions, supports high level transcriptional activity. Furthermore, duplex minimal H1 & U6 promoters transcribed dual sgRNAs for simultaneous disruption of T cell receptor (TCR) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, supporting efficient generation of ‘universal’ CAR T cells.

Messor is a diverse genus of Myrmicinae with 168 extant species and subspecies. In the Mediterranean, some of its taxa historically were classified as members of the Messor instabilis group (sensu Santschi), of which 19 are known from the eastern Mediterranean. Here, the Messor semirufus complex of the Balkan Peninsula that assembles a distinct subsection of members of the instabilis group is defined and treated. In total, five species are recorded, including three that are new. Messor atanassovii Atanassov, 1982 is redescribed and confirmed for Bulgaria (Thracian Plain, Struma, and Mesta Valley, Pirin Mt., and Eastern Rhodopi) and Greece (Epirus, Ionian Islands, Central and Eastern Macedonia, and Thraki). Three species are described as new to science: Messor danaes Salata, Georgiadis & Borowiec, sp. nov. (Cyclades: Serifos), Messor kardamenae Salata & Borowiec, sp. nov. (Dodecanese: Kos, Nisyros, Rhodes, and Tilos), and Messor veneris Salata, Georgiadis & Borowiec, sp. nov. (Cyclades: Milos). The fifth member of the complex, Messor creticus Borowiec & Salata, 2019, maintains its status of Cretan endemic.

Lyciasalamandra species, like most amphibians, secrete a wide array of compounds from their granular and mucous skin glands, including the internally synthesized samandarine alkaloids, making their skin a complex organ performing a variety of functions. Lyciasalamandra helverseni and L . luschani basoglui are insular endemics of the Dodecanese islands of SE Greece, bearing distinct isolated populations, with well-documented phylogenetic profiles. Here, we employ a metabolomics approach, utilizing UPLC–ESI-HRMS/MS data of the skin secretions sampled from a number of specimens found in the islands of Karpathos, Kasos and Kastellorizo, in an effort to reveal aspects of their chemistry and diversity across populations. The results indicated statistically significant variation between all taxa examined, based on various secreted compounds. The underlying factors of variation highlighted by the multivariate analysis were differences in samandarine and other alkaloid content as well as in animal size. Metabolite annotation, based on dereplication tools and most importantly HRMS and HRMS/MS spectra, yielded a number of known samandarine alkaloids, reported for the first time in the currently studied Lyciasalamandra species. We also present documentation for novel members of the samandarine alkaloid family, as well as preliminary evidence for a possible dietary alkaloid sequestration. This work can set the basis for further research of this often-neglected endemic species of the Salamandridae, as well as the structural investigation of the samandarine alkaloid group.

We report for the first time the occurrence of the alien ant Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929 on the Greek island of Crete. Cardiocondyla obscurior is one of many congeneric taxa with worldwide success as tramp species, having attained a cosmopolitan distribution while having Indomalayan origins. It was first detected in Europe in 1999, and since 2015 it has started to be found outdoors in Southern European countries. Our record is the first in Europe in which the species is observed to be established outdoors in an agricultural area instead of an urban environment. Introduced Cardiocondyla ants are generally thought to have little ecological impact, although targeted studies have been lacking. Cardiocondyla obscurior is the third species of its genus to be found on the island of Crete, which is characterized by a remarkable ant diversity.

Biological invasions represent one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss with adverse impacts on human societies, economies and public health. More than 500 ant species have been transported outside their native range with the help of humans, while the majority of them have managed to establish viable populations in the wild. Nevertheless, data from the Mediterranean region suggest that most alien ants occupy anthropogenic habitats with little spread in semi-natural and natural habitats. Research on biological invasions of ants in Greece had previously identified a total of 15 alien ant species. In this article, an extensive literature investigation and material examination provide a revised checklist of the alien myrmecofauna of Greece. Although the number of alien ant species remains the same, the checklist’s composition is largely altered to provide an up-to-date overview of the country’s alien myrmecofauna in order to enhance management decisions and future research. The presence and distribution of alien ants within Greek administrative divisions, NATURA 2000 sites and Corine Land Cover types are analysed and presented. In particular, the species richness of alien ants seems to be highest in the Aegean Archipelago (Crete and Southern Aegean Islands) probably due to uneven collecting efforts and increased climatic suitability. Alien ant species are mostly associated with anthropogenic habitats including urban and agricultural areas, although a significant percentage has managed to spread into forest and semi-natural areas, including protected NATURA 2000 sites. Future research directions enhancing the monitoring of alien ants and their impacts are indicated to safeguard native ant biodiversity and conservation efforts of rare and endemic taxa.

A dead individual of Metamasius hemipterus (Linnaeus, 1758) was collected by a citizen scientist in Athens, Greece from a hand of imported bananas. The equatorial origin of the fruit as well as the extensive growth of a fungus on the specimen, both suggest an unintentional introduction as a contaminant. Nevertheless, this record highlights the valu-able contribution of citizen scientists in the study of alien species. Although the species is not presently considered as established in the country, citizen-science initiatives in order to raise awareness and monitor its presence are ongoing.