Reducing test data size is one of the major challenges in testing systems-on-a-chip. This can be achieved by test compaction and/or compression techniques. Having a partially specified or relaxed test set increases the effectiveness of compaction and compression techniques. In this paper, we propose a novel and efficient test relaxation technique for combinational circuits. It is based on criti...

In mixed integer programming branching methods are a powerful and frequently employed tool. This paper presents a branching strategy for the case that the integer constraints are associated with a finite set of points in a possibly multidimensional space. We use the knowledge about this discrete set represented by its minimum spanning tree and find a splitting based on convex relaxation. Typica...

AIM To examine the effectiveness of a modified relaxation (MR) technique in reducing blood pressure levels in Thai postmenopausal women with mild hypertension, compared with a control group who received health education. METHODS This is a 16-week, randomized, parallel, open-label, controlled trial in a menopausal clinic in a tertiary health care center in Northeastern Thailand. The interventi...

Edge detection plays an important role in computer vision tasks, and has received considerable attention in image processing literature. To detect edges correctly and precisely, contextual information is needed. How to use contextual information is a key issue. In this paper, we introduce an edge detection method that will use edge contextual information of the whole image efficiency. This new ...

The non-linear mechanical behaviour of porcine brain tissue in large shear deformations is determined. An improved method for rotational shear experiments is used, producing an approximately homogeneous strain field and leading to an enhanced accuracy. Results from oscillatory shear experiments with a strain amplitude of 0.01 and frequencies ranging from 0.04 to 16 Hz are given. The immediate l...

in this paper, bam postseismic deformations during 7 years after earthquake have been extracted using persistent scatterer interferometry technique. the time series are inverted for the afterslip distribution on an extension of the coseismic rupture. the estimated postseismic slip value is 20.45±0.38 cm. most of the postseismic displacement field can be explained in terms of fault slip. the res...

Granular materials are widely used in industrial processes despite their complex and poorly understood mechanical behaviour both in static and dynamic regimes. A prototypical example is the settlement and compaction of a granular bed under vibrational loading. The elementary mechanisms of this process are still unclear and there is presently no established theory or methodology to predict the s...

The deformation of metallic glasses involves two competing processes: a disordering process involving dilatation, free volume accumulation, and softening, and a relaxation process involving diffusional ordering and densification. For metallic glasses at room temperature and under uniaxial loading, disordering usually dominates, and the glass can fail catastrophically as the softening process ru...

A rudimentary calorimeter was constructed to measure the temperature dependence of the specific heat of a 10 m thick ~0.62 mg! copolymer film of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene in the previously unexplored vicinity of 6 K. The data were processed with the algorithm developed by Hwang et al. @Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68, 94 ~1997!# as modified for our configuration in which a Cernox thermome...

Background Relaxation time mapping is increasingly important for myocardial tissue characterization and potentially offers a quantitative descriptor of occult or heterogeneous myocardial disease. Recent techniques that reduce motion sensitivity, image artifacts and correct for elevated heart rates (HR) have made substantial advances in map accuracy and precision, but it is unclear how these imp...