A representação social da profissão de contador na perspectiva dos profissionais da contabilidade

Ao adotar a premissa de que a Teoria das Representações Sociais abarca o quanto o indivíduo molda e é moldado pela sociedade, e que esta teoria ajuda a explicar as representações em nível grupal dos fenômenos sociais, este artigo tem como objetivo revelar o que a profissão de Contador representa socialmente para profissionais formados em Ciências Contábeis. Para a Teoria das Representações Sociais, os indivíduos são membros de grupos sociais e o mundo é socialmente construído a partir das perspectivas desses grupos, em face de suas posições e ações diante de um objeto social particular. Desta forma, se buscou, a partir de uma pesquisa descritiva, de natureza qualitativa e interpretativa, cujos dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas abertas junto a contadores na cidade Maringá, alcançar o objetivo do trabalho. Os resultados apontam que a profissão de Contador representa socialmente para os participantes da pesquisa uma profissão abrangente, sendo que eles se veem como um amigo responsável e ético, que atua numa área em constante evolução, cheia de desafios e adorada por quem a pratica. As representações que aqui emergiram também mostram que existe um entrelaçamento entre elas e os processos de construção da identidade do Contador.Since the Theory of Social Representations deals with the degree people shape society and are shaped by it and how it explains representations at the group level of social phenomena, the current text reveals what Account executives' profession socially represents for Accounting professionals. According to the Theory of Social Representations, individuals are members of social groups and their environment is socially built as from the groups' perspectives within the context of their stance and activities in the face of a specific social object. A descriptive, qualitative and interpretative research has been undertaken which data were collected by open interviews with account executives in Maringá state of Paraná - Brazil so that the aim of current research could be achieved. Results show that for the research's participants Accounting socially represents a comprehensive profession. In fact, they see themselves as a responsible and ethical friend who works in an area subjected to constant development, full of challenges and appreciated by all who practice it. Representations and the construction processes of the Account executives'identity are also shown to be interwoven

The apelin‑apelin receptor signaling pathway in fibroblasts is involved in tumor growth via p53 expression of cancer cells

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are pivotal in tumor progression. TP53-deficiency in cancer cells is associated with robust stromal activation. The apelin-apelin receptor (APJ) system has been implicated in suppressing fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition in non-neoplastic organ fibrosis. The present study aimed to elucidate the oncogenic role of the apelin-APJ system in tumor fibroblasts. APJ expression and the effect of APJ suppression in fibroblasts were investigated for p53 status in cancer cells using human cell lines (TP53-wild colon cancer, HCT116, and Caco-2; TP53-mutant colon cancer, SW480, and DLD-1; and colon fibroblasts, CCD-18Co), resected human tissue samples of colorectal cancers, and immune-deficient nude mouse xenograft models. The role of exosomes collected by ultracentrifugation were also analyzed as mediators of p53 expression in cancer cells and APJ expression in fibroblasts. APJ expression in fibroblasts co-cultured with p53-suppressed colon cancer cells (HCT116sh p53 cells) was significantly lower than in control colon cancer cells (HCT116sh control cells). APJ-suppressed fibroblasts treated with an antagonist or small interfering RNA showed myofibroblast-like properties, including increased proliferation and migratory abilities, via accelerated phosphorylation of Sma- and Mad-related protein 2/3 (Smad2/3). In addition, xenografts of HCT116 cells with APJ-suppressed fibroblasts showed accelerated tumor growth. By contrast, apelin suppressed the upregulation of phosphorylated Smad2/3 in fibroblasts. MicroRNA 5703 enriched in exosomes derived from HCT116sh p53 cells inhibited APJ expression, and inhibition of miR-5703 diminished APJ suppression in fibroblasts caused by cancer cells. APJ suppression from a specific microRNA in cancer cell-derived exosomes induced CAF-like properties in fibroblasts. Thus, the APJ system in fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment may be a promising therapeutic target.Saiki H., Hayashi Y., Yoshii S., et al. The apelin‑apelin receptor signaling pathway in fibroblasts is involved in tumor growth via p53 expression of cancer cells. International Journal of Oncology 63, 139 (2023); https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2023.5587

A novel artificial intelligence-based endoscopic ultrasonography diagnostic system for diagnosing the invasion depth of early gastric cancer

The version of record of this article, first published in Journal of Gastroenterology, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-024-02102-1.Background: We developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) system for diagnosing the invasion depth of early gastric cancer (EGC), and we evaluated the performance of this system. Methods: A total of 8280 EUS images from 559 EGC cases were collected from 11 institutions. Within this dataset, 3451 images (285 cases) from one institution were used as a development dataset. The AI model consisted of segmentation and classification steps, followed by the CycleGAN method to bridge differences in EUS images captured by different equipment. AI model performance was evaluated using an internal validation dataset collected from the same institution as the development dataset (1726 images, 135 cases). External validation was conducted using images collected from the other 10 institutions (3103 images, 139 cases). Results: The area under the curve (AUC) of the AI model in the internal validation dataset was 0.870 (95% CI: 0.796–0.944). Regarding diagnostic performance, the accuracy/sensitivity/specificity values of the AI model, experts (n = 6), and nonexperts (n = 8) were 82.2/63.4/90.4%, 81.9/66.3/88.7%, and 68.3/60.9/71.5%, respectively. The AUC of the AI model in the external validation dataset was 0.815 (95% CI: 0.743–0.886). The accuracy/sensitivity/specificity values of the AI model (74.1/73.1/75.0%) and the real-time diagnoses of experts (75.5/79.1/72.2%) in the external validation dataset were comparable. Conclusions: Our AI model demonstrated a diagnostic performance equivalent to that of experts

Narrow-band imaging with magnifying endoscopy for Peyer's patches is useful in predicting the recurrence of remissive patients with ulcerative colitis

Background/AimsPeyer's patches (PPs) are aggregates of lymphoid follicles that are mainly located in the distal ileum; they play a major role in mucosal immunity. We recently reported that patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have alterations in PPs that can be detected using narrow-band imaging with magnifying endoscopy (NBI-ME). However, the usefulness of NBI-ME in UC treatment as a whole is still unknown.MethodsWe collected NBI-ME images of PPs from 67 UC patients who had undergone ileocolonoscopy. We evaluated changes in the villi using the "villi index," which is based on three categories: irregular formation, hyperemia, and altered vascular network pattern. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of villi index: low (L)- and high (H)-types. We then determined the correlation between morphological alteration of the PPs and various clinical characteristics. In 52 patients who were in clinical remission, we also analyzed the correlation between NBI-ME findings of PPs and clinical recurrence.ResultsThe time to clinical recurrence was significantly shorter in remissive UC patients with H-type PPs than in those with L-type PPs (P<0.01). Moreover, PP alterations were not correlated with age, sex, disease duration, clinical activity, endoscopic score, or extent of disease involvement. Multivariate analysis revealed that the existence of H-type PPs was an independent risk factor for clinical recurrence (hazard ratio, 3.3; P<0.01).ConclusionsUC patients with morphological alterations in PPs were at high risk of clinical relapse. Therefore, to predict the clinical course of UC, it may be useful to evaluate NBI-ME images of PPs