This article describes and evaluates algorithms and their hardware architectures for binary morphological erosion and dilation. In particular, a fast stall-free low-complexity architecture is proposed that takes advantage of the morphological duality principle and structuring element (SE) decomposition. The design is intended to be used as a hardware accelerator in real-time embedded processing ap

The oxidation of Pd(111) leads to an incommensurate surface oxide, which was studied by the use of scanning tunneling microscopy, surface x-ray diffraction, high resolution core level spectroscopy, and density functional calculations. A combination of these methods reveals a two-dimensional structure having no resemblance to bulk oxides of Pd. Our study also demonstrates how the atomic arrangement

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term influence of meniscectomy on pain, functional limitations, and muscular performance. To assess the effects of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA), gender and age on these outcomes in patients with meniscectomy. DESIGN: 159 subjects (35 women), mean age 53 years, were examined 19 (17-22) years after open meniscectomy. Self-reported symptoms and function were assess

A photochemistry study on nitrous oxide making use of site-selective excitation of terminal nitrogen, central nitrogen, and oxygen 1s-->3pi excitations is presented. The resonant Auger decay which takes place following excitation can lead to dissociation of the N(2)O(+) ion. To elucidate the nuclear dynamics, energy-resolved Auger electrons were detected in coincidence with the ionic dissociation

Purpose: We aimed to investigate associations between serum levels of the advanced glycation endproduct methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone (MG-H1) and retinopathy in a sample of patients with type 1 diabetes. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a Scandinavian ophthalmology outpatient clinic on 61 randomly selected patients with type 1 diabetes. Blood samples and retinal photograph

Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is involved in the activation of different proteases which participate in the degradation of extracellular matrix, thereby enhancing the invasive capacity of tumour cells. uPA has been shown to be of prognostic importance in breast cancer. We have analysed uPA with a new luminometric immunoassay (LIA), applicable in cytosol samples routinely used for oestrogen

EU negotiations are characterized bythe coexistence of a bargaining and a problem-solving approach. The permanence of EU negotiations discourages tough bargaining behaviour, as does the prevalence of strong consensus norms. On the other hand, evidence exists of very confrontational behaviour that often leads to lowest common denominator solutions. We argue that the mode of negotiation to be found

The Torrabaai-Koigabmond Complex (southern Kaoko Belt, Namibia) consists of three main intrusive rock types including metaluminous hornblende- and titanite-bearing quartz diorites, metaluminous hornblende- and biotite-bearing granodiorites and peraluminous garnet- and muscovite-bearing leucogranites. Uranium-Pb zircon data obtained on the granodiorites and leucogranites indicate concordia upper in

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate any association between vaginal carriage of Mycoplasma hominis and genital signs and symptoms, other microbial findings, and some risk behavior factors in women with and without bacterial vaginosis. STUDY DESIGN: Women who had attended two family planning clinics and a youth clinic for contraceptive advice were divided depending on the result of

The neotropical, freshwater copepod Notodiaptomus iheringi decreased the growth of small colonies in cyanobacteria-dominated plankton, indicating that they can be efficiently ingested and that they may represent an important food source for this copepod in reservoirs dominated by cyanobacteria. Cultured, colonial, toxic Microcystis aeruginosa was not affected, indicating that toxicity may cause a

The recent interest in photodynamic therapy of human prostate cancer is accompanied by a need for techniques for in vivo monitoring of optical and physiological characteristics. We propose time-of-flight (TOF) spectroscopy in combination with Monte Carlo evaluation as a reliable optical technique for quantitative assessment of absorption, scattering, hemoglobin content and tissue oxygenation in th

Nanofiltration (NF) has attracted increasing attention during recent years due to the development of new applications. The advantage of NF compared with reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) is that it is possible to separate organic substances from some types of salts. It is, furthermore, also possible to separate different kinds of salts due to the negatively charged groups on the membra

In a unifying way, the doorway mechanism explains spectral properties in a rich variety of open mesoscopic quantum systems, ranging from atoms to nuclei. A distinct state and a background of other states couple to each other which sensitively affects the strength function. The recently measured superscars in the barrier billiard provide an ideal model for an in-depth investigation of this mechanis

The inlet geometry of the combustion chamber of a Helmholtz type pulse combustor was changed by altering the position of a stagnation plate, or flame holder, near the inlet. Three different flame fielder positions were studied. The operating characteristics in terms of time resolved pressure and heat release, time averaged tail pipe temperature and concentrations of O2 and NOx in the outlet decoup

Ocean waves exhibit more or less a Gaussian distribution for the instantaneous water surface height, and there is a need to develop simple models for generation of the characteristic non-Gaussian statistics, namely the asymmetric distributions of water surface height and wave slope. We argue that a simple class of non-linear oscillators can reproduce some of the characteristic features of random w

Objectives. Only a little research has focused on the evaluation of female sexual function. With sexual stimulation, the clitoris becomes engorged with blood and tumescent. Nevertheless, only little is known about the significance of the cyclic nucleotide-mediated signal transduction in the control of this process. We sought to elucidate the presence of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) isoenzymes 3, 4,

From the half-angle substitution of trigonometric terms in the Ernst equation, rational approximations of the flip angle dependence of the FLASH signal can be derived. Even the rational function of the lowest order was in good agreement with the experiment for flip angles up to 20°. Three-dimensional maps of the signal amplitude and longitudinal relaxation rates in human brain were obtained from e

Background: Terlipressin has been suggested as the ideal drug to treat anesthesia-induced hypotension in patients under long-term renin-angiotensin system inhibitor treatment for arterial hypertension. The authors compared the effects of terlipressin and norepinephrine on systemic hemodynamic parameters and gastric mucosal perfusion using a laser Doppler flowmetry technique in patients treated wit