v = [1 1 -1 1 1 1 -1 -1 1];
z = v > 0;
id = find([true;diff(v.') ~= 0]);
k = diff([id;numel(v)+1]);
out = k(z(id));
or use Image Processing Toolbox
v = [1 1 -1 1 1 1 -1 -1 1]
z = v > 0;
s = regionprops(z, 'Area');;
out = [s.Area];
or
v = [1 1 -1 1 1 1 -1 -1 1];
v1 = [-v(1)*sign(v(1)),v,-v(end)*sign(v(end))];
out = strfind(v1,[1, -1])-strfind(v1,[-1 1]);
