Postoperative outcomes in oesophagectomy with trainee involvement

BACKGROUND: The complexity of oesophageal surgery and the significant risk of morbidity necessitates that oesophagectomy is predominantly performed by a consultant surgeon, or a senior trainee under their supervision. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of trainee involvement in oesophagectomy on postoperative outcomes in an international multicentre setting. METHODS: Data from the multicentre Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Study Group (OGAA) cohort study were analysed, which comprised prospectively collected data from patients undergoing oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer between April 2018 and December 2018. Procedures were grouped by the level of trainee involvement, and univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to compare patient outcomes across groups. RESULTS: Of 2232 oesophagectomies from 137 centres in 41 countries, trainees were involved in 29.1 per cent of them (n = 650), performing only the abdominal phase in 230, only the chest and/or neck phases in 130, and all phases in 315 procedures. For procedures with a chest anastomosis, those with trainee involvement had similar 90-day mortality, complication and reoperation rates to consultant-performed oesophagectomies (P = 0.451, P = 0.318, and P = 0.382, respectively), while anastomotic leak rates were significantly lower in the trainee groups (P = 0.030). Procedures with a neck anastomosis had equivalent complication, anastomotic leak, and reoperation rates (P = 0.150, P = 0.430, and P = 0.632, respectively) in trainee-involved versus consultant-performed oesophagectomies, with significantly lower 90-day mortality in the trainee groups (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Trainee involvement was not found to be associated with significantly inferior postoperative outcomes for selected patients undergoing oesophagectomy. The results support continued supervised trainee involvement in oesophageal cancer surgery

Implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in fashion small and medium-sized enterprises in Kosovo: managers’ perspective

This research responded to CSR scholars' call for future papers to investigate CSR implementation across different contexts. It studied CSR implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises in the fashion industry in Kosovo. CSR implementation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has not received reciprocal attention in academia as large organisations. Hence, this research explored the perceptions of fashion SME managers/owners about this phenomenon. Country-wise, this research focused on a developing country in South-East Europe – Kosovo, which scholars have rarely covered. It studied the phenomenon by employing six open-ended, semi-structured, face-to-face elite interviews with owners/managers of small and medium-sized fashion enterprises. Theoretically, this research contributed to CSR in developing countries and CSR in small and medium-sized enterprises literature. It also contributed to the development of CSR implementation literature. It showed that the lack of CSR implementation in Kosovo emerges from the scarcity of national information on CSR and the absence of this concept in the nation’s mentality. Practically, this research provided guidelines to Kosovar fashion SMEs unaware and inexperienced with CSR adaptation

Application of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum in greenhouse soil with manure induced salinity for organic pepper production

In this study, the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus − AMF Rhizophagus intraradices inoculum (prior or with transplanting) to different pepper type (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. Arlequin F1 (long fruits) and Raiko F1 (bell pepper), on plant growth and physiological parameters in response to elevated soil P concentrations from organic greenhouse production with enhanced soil salinity, was investigated. To explain the physiological growth of mycorrhizal inoculated (M) and non-mycorrhizal inoculated (NM) plants, the parameters of fungal root length colonization, shoot concentration of P an N during growth, plant height, width of stem, yield, number of fruit per plant and also the quality parameters of fruits such as soluble solid content (SSC), fruit color, mineral profile, total soluble phenolics (TSP) and antioxidant activity (FRAP), were determined. This study showed that application of AMF in cv. Raiko cultivated in high P saline soil generally enhanced growth, fruit yield and number of fruits per plant when inoculated at planting time in the greenhouse. AM inoculated plants, regardless of the time of application in cv. Arlequin grown under the same conditions, did not have any significant differences in comparison with NM plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation has great potential in enhancing the pepper growth and yield even in high soil P, however, because of the complexity and interaction of involved genotypes of pepper and AMF, the method and time of inoculation, the system of pepper production and environmental conditions, as well as assays have to be performed to verify positive effects