Abstract Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria have emerged as pivotal benchmarks for assessing corporate sustainability and ethical business practices. This study investigates the transformative role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in advancing ESG practices, with a particular emphasis on countries aspiring to European Union membership. Employing a quantitative methodology through a survey questionnaire the research analyzes the challenges and opportunities associated with ESG implementation. Data collected from 51 SMEs across the Balkan region reveal substantial benefits of ESG integration, notably in enhancing operational efficiency and market reputation, with transparency and strategic planning identified as critical drivers. However, SMEs face significant obstacles such as complex regulatory frameworks, limited access to financing, and inadequate training resources. The article proposes targeted strategies to strengthen SME capacity, emphasizing investment in education, technological solutions, and partnerships with key stakeholders. By adopting ESG standards, SMEs not only contribute to sustainable development but also bolster their competitiveness and resilience in a rapidly evolving global market.

We consider deterministic nonlinear discrete-time systems whose inputs are generated by policy iteration (PI) for undiscounted cost functions. We first assume that PI is recursively feasible, in the sense that the optimization problems solved at each iteration admit a solution. In this case, we provide novel conditions to establish recursive robust stability properties for a general attractor, meaning that the policies generated at each iteration ensure a robust <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {KL}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-stability property with respect to a general state measure. We then derive novel explicit bounds on the mismatch between the (suboptimal) value function returned by PI at each iteration and the optimal one. However, we show by a counterexample that PI may fail to be recursively feasible, disallowing the mentioned stability and near-optimality guarantees. We therefore also present a modification of PI so that recursive feasibility is guaranteed a priori under mild conditions. This modified algorithm, called PI<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{+}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, is shown to preserve the recursive robust stability when the attractor is compact. In addition, PI<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{+}$</tex-math></inline-formula> enjoys the same near-optimality properties as its PI counterpart under the same assumptions.

In this paper, the author aims to address and problematize the adequacy of the criminal enforcement system in terms of the social adaptation and reintegration of convicted persons after serving a prison sentence, as well as to critically examine the potential problems and risks faced by this population. The humanization of the criminal enforcement system requires respect for the personal integrity and dignity of each individual, along with the implementation of appropriate programs and treatments aimed at behavior change and raising awareness about the harmful effects of criminal activity to achieve specific objectives. In this context, the legislator has prescribed a catalog of rights and established certain rules of conduct, particularly for specific categories, such as minors, individuals with mental disorders, persons with disabilities, and drug users. Special attention is given to juveniles due to their age, criminal-legal status, and the potential risk of recidivism (criminal reoffending), with a particular focus on sentencing and the execution of juvenile imprisonment. Accordingly, the paper centers on the social adaptation and reintegration of former offenders, with a particular focus on the real problems and challenges they face after serving their sentences and being released from correctional institutions.

Abstract Duplication of the vermiform appendix is a rare anomaly observed in patients undergoing appendectomy. A 27-month-old male toddler presented with a 9-day history of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, progressing to an acute abdomen with signs of severe peritonitis. Intraoperative findings revealed a periappendicular infiltrate from a perforated vermiform appendix of the tenia coli type. A second, inflamed appendix was incidentally discovered in its typical location during the procedure. Vermiform appendix duplication presents a clinical challenge due to its rarity and potential for complications. According to the Cave–Wallbridge classification, this case represents Type B2, or the tenia coli variant, characterized by a perforated appendix originating at the tenia coli convergence and a smaller, secondary appendix in a retrocecal position. This case emphasizes the importance of thorough distal and proximal exploration during initial appendectomy when this anomaly is suspected, particularly in cases of Type B2.

Cancer progression is an evolutionary process driven by the selection of cells adapted to gain growth advantage. We present a formal study on the adaptation of gene expression in subclonal evolution. We model evolutionary changes in gene expression as stochastic Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes, jointly leveraging the evolutionary history of subclones and single-cell expression data. Applying our model to sublines derived from single cells of a mouse melanoma revealed that sublines with distinct phenotypes are underlined by different patterns of gene expression adaptation, indicating non-genetic mechanisms of cancer evolution. Sublines previously observed to be resistant to anti-CTLA-4 treatment showed adaptive expression of genes related to invasion and non-canonical Wnt signaling, whereas sublines that responded to treatment showed adaptive expression of genes related to proliferation and canonical Wnt signaling. Our results suggest that clonal phenotypes emerge as the result of specific adaptivity patterns of gene expression. A record of this paper’s Transparent Peer Review process is included in the Supplemental Information.

Proton decay has been studied for decades now as one of the consequences of grand unified theories. Among those theories exists SU(5) theory, firstly postulated by H. Georgi and S. Glashow [1]. However, there were some problems with this theory such as mass degeneration and coupling unification [1-3]. This created a need for an extension of an original SU(5) model – a specific minimal SU(5) [4-5]. In this minimal SU(5) there is a viable parameter space with achievable gauge coupling unification. In this article, we present the process of gauge coupling unification for three mass scales of new physics states in this model, namely for 1 TeV, 10 TeV, and 100 TeV.

Abstract Serpentine soils are characterized as a unique environment with low nutrient availability and high heavy metal concentrations, often hostile to many plant species. Even though these unfavorable conditions hinder the growth of various plants, particular vegetation with different adaptive mechanisms thrives undisturbed. One of the main contributors to serpentine adaptation represents serpentine bacteria with plant growth-promoting properties that assemble delicate interactions with serpentine plants. Robinia pseudoacacia L. is an invasive but adaptive species with phytoremediation potential and demonstrates extraordinary success in this environment. To explore more in-depth the role of plant growth-promoting serpentine bacteria, we isolated them and tested their various plant growth-promoting traits both from the rhizosphere and roots of R. pseudoacacia. Based on the demonstrated plant growth-promoting traits such as siderophore production, phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, indole-3-acetic acid production, and ACC deaminase production, we sequenced overall 25 isolates, 14 from the rhizosphere and 11 from the roots. Although more efficient in exhibiting plant growthpromoting traits, rhizospheric bacteria showed a low rate of diversity in comparison to endophytic bacteria. The majority of the isolates from the rhizosphere belong to Pseudomonas, while isolates from the roots exhibited higher diversity with genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Lysinibacillus and Brevibacterium/Peribacillus/Bacillus. The capacity of the described bacteria to produce siderophores, solubilize phosphate, and fix nitrogen highlights their central role in enhancing nutrient availability and facilitating R. pseudoacacia adaptation to serpentine soils. The findings highlight the potential significance of serpentine bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas, in contributing to the resilience and growth of R. pseudoacacia in serpentine environments.