Introduction: We developed and tested a new system for inducing the healing of diabetic foot ulcers. The system relies on the regenerative properties of its two components: an insole with a sheet of natural latex and a device that contains a matrix of light emitting diodes with wavelength of 635 nm. Methods: The electronic and latex based devices were developed, and a four weeks test was performed in one control group (CG) of five ulcers and one experimental group (EG) of eight ulcers. The CG was treated with a standard approach, based on a silver-releasing foam dressing, and the EG was treated with the system under test. For each ulcer, an index for quantifying the percentage ulcer recovery, named CRU(%), has been calculated; a CRU(%) = 0% means no healing, and a CRU(%) = 100% means total healing. Results: There were statistically significant increases of CRU(%) of 51.8% (p = 0.022), for the CG, and of 78.4% (p < 0.001), for the EG. The increase in the EG was higher than the increase in the CG, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The results showed that the proposed method had, for these particular sets of ulcers, faster healing rates, than for the standard method. Conclusion: The results hint that the proposed method seems promising as a future treatment method. However, the technique must undergo further testing before it can be considered for extensive clinical applications.

In this work, an algorithm for the detection of the left ventricular border in two-dimensional long axis echocardiographic images is presented. In its preprocessing stage, images fusion was applied to a sequence of images composed of three cardiac cycles. This method exploits the similarity of corresponding frames from different cycles and produces contrast enhancement in the left ventricular boundary. This result improves the performance of the segmentation stage which is based on watershed transformation. The obtained left ventricle border is quantitatively and qualitatively compared with contours manually segmented by a cardiologist, and with results obtained using seven different techniques from the literature.

Este artigo discute a relação entre a comunicação e mudança organizacional como uma interlocução instrumental e constitutiva. Propõe-se, através de uma breve revisão de literatura e sa apresentação de alguns resultados de investigação, contribuir para uma melhor compreensão dos processos de mudança cultural nas organizações.

Two semi-automatic methods for the detection of the left ventricular border in two-dimensional short axis echocardiographic images are presented and compared. In these methods, the left ventricular area variation curve is calculated during a complete cardiac cycle after the segmentation of several frames. This allows the evaluation of the cardiovascular dynamics and the identification of important clinical parameters. The algorithms are proposed as several independent modules. The results are validated through the comparison between the semi-automatic continuous boundaries and manuals boundaries sketched by a medical specialist.

ResumoO artigo trata da posição da autora em relação à discussão identitária sobre Relações Públicas e Comunicação Organizacional no Brasil. Relata o contexto de emergência dessa discussão, as questões colocadas, identifica a abordagem mainstream e apresenta e defende o ponto de vista de que há sobre o assunto uma interpretação brasileira que é distintiva. PAlAVRAS-CHAVE: RElAçÕES PúBlICAS • COMUnICAçãO ORGAnIZACIOnAl • FÓRUM ABRAPCORP AbstractThis article concerns the author's position in relation to discussion of the identity of the fields of Public Relations and Organizational Communication in Brazil. It presents the context of emergency for this discussion and the questions raised, while identifying the mainstream approach and defending that there is a distinctive Brazilian construal of this issue.