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Recently, new data have been presented which imply that major block rotations took place in the Central Mediterranean during the Pleistocene, between 1.0 and 0.7 Ma. Kinematic solutions for the spatial and temporal distribution of rotational data in the Central Mediterranean such as oroclinal bending of the Calabrian Arc and rotation of the Adria Plate are being discussed. Phases of neotectonic rotations appear to be confined to distinct phases of contractions and compressive interplate stress. We present a model in which the middle Pleistocene rotations are caused by a distribution of deformation in the Central Mediterranean through strike-slip motions along a number of major shear zones which define a free boundary between the African and the Adria Plates. One of the main features is the Trans-Mediterranean Mobile Zone, which separates areas with opposite rotations. The timing of the rotations is compared to the evolution of volcanism, basin development, subsidence and uplift patterns, contractional tectonics and seismicity patterns. From this comparison we hypothesize that the Late Pliocene-Recent geodynamic evolution of the Central Mediterranean comprises the following three episodes: (1) A Late Pliocene arc migration episode shows drifting of the Calabrian block and spreading of the back-arc basin without the associated oroclinal rotations that were previously assumed in literature. (2) An Early Pleistocene contraction episode shows a gradual increase of compressive interplate stress, and culminates in a middle Pleistocene "stress release phase" which is associated with block rotations, transpressional tectonics and a rupturing of the subducted slab. (3) A Late Pleistocene-Recent restabilisation episode is characterized by rapid isostatic adjustments, with extensional collapse of the Apennine thrust-wedge and the Tyrrhenian back-arc area related to rebound of non-detached lithosphere remnants and sinking into the mantle of the detached slab.

The kinematics of intra‐arc shear zones play a key role in the secondary shaping of orogenic arcs such as the Calabrian Arc (central Mediterranean). Comparison of the Neogene structural development of the Petilia‐Rizzuto Fault Zone and the basement structure of the bordering Sila massif reveals that the fault zone is the surface expression of a deep NW–SE trending sinistral crustal oblique shear zone. This shear zone continues over a length of more than 130 km across the northern segment of the Calabrian Arc and shows a post‐Eocene sinistral displacement of about 50 km. The late Neogene forearc basin development and syndepositional tectonics along the fault zone are reconstructed in great detail by analyzing the middle Miocene‐Recent tectonic sequence stratigraphy. A strike‐slip cycle can be recognized whereby the subsequent activity of Riedel shears, tensional faults, and P shears, positive flower structures and principle displacement wrench faults, can accurately be traced in time. Observed phenomena are discussed in terms of the activity of a conjugate system of oblique thrust zones within the growing accretionary complex. The evolution of special types of thrust belt basins is illustrated. These include oblique thin‐skinned pull‐apart basins, oblique rhomboidal “harmonica” basins, and “detached slab” basins (new terms introduced here), evolving one into the other. A new feature illustrated is the recurrent basin inversion which generated passive roof duplexes through back‐shear motion and out‐of‐sequence thrusting along the wedge. The fault patterns and the style of inversion tectonics imply an E–W directed axis of effective compressive stress in this part of the arc. This resulted from an interaction of (1) local E–W directed compression related to a differential displacement of two parallel segments of the arc (generated by the migration to the southeast of the Calabrian Arc and opening of the Tyrrhenian backarc basin); (2) alternating NW–SE directed compression and extension (related to pulsating thrust wedge dynamics with phases of accretion and underthrusting respectively) and (3) regional, compressive interplate stress (middle Messinian‐middle Pliocene). All structures are overprinted by post middle Pleistocene extensional faulting (related to rapid uplift of intra‐arc massifs) and reversal along thrust planes and transcurrent faults. This extensional collapse reflects isostatic adjustments in response to plate rupture which was provoked by regional compressive stress.

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In this paper we report on the results of a systematic study carried out on the fault and fracture systems exposed in the Majella Mountain, in the central Apennines fold and thrust belt of mainland Italy. The focus of our work was to assess the dimensional, spatial, and scaling properties of fault and fractures in carbonate rocks, in order to set up appropriate flow models for these types of potential geofluid reservoirs. The results provide information on (1) orientation, size distribution, density variations, and fractal characteristics of the fault and fracture networks affecting the Majella anticline; (2) the scaling properties and the overall architecture of different fault zone components; (3) the overprinting relationships between fault and fracture sets and the Majella fold structure. These data were used to elaborate a three-dimensional discrete fault and fracture model (DFFN model) of a ∼100 m3 geological volume, and for this to (1) evaluate the transport and storage properties of the reservoir; and (2) assess the degree of vulnerability and any possible hazard related to the exploitation and management of geofluids hosted in carbonate rock volumes.

Speech production is an intricate process involving a large number of muscles and cognitive processes. The neural processes underlying speech production are not completely understood. As speech is a uniquely human ability, it can not be investigated in animal models. High-fidelity human data can only be obtained in clinical settings and is therefore not easily available to all researchers. Here, we provide a dataset of 10 participants reading out individual words while we measured intracranial EEG from a total of 1103 electrodes. The data, with its high temporal resolution and coverage of a large variety of cortical and sub-cortical brain regions, can help in understanding the speech production process better. Simultaneously, the data can be used to test speech decoding and synthesis approaches from neural data to develop speech Brain-Computer Interfaces and speech neuroprostheses.

The accurate detection of respiratory effort during polysomnographyis a critical element in the diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing conditions such as sleep apnea. Unfortunately, the sensors currently used to estimate respiratory effort are either indirect and ignore upper airway dynamics or are too obtrusive for patients. One promising alternative is the suprasternal notch pressure (SSP) sensor: a small element placed on the skin in the notch above the sternum within an airtight capsule that detects pressure swings in the trachea. Besides providing information on respiratory effort, the sensor is sensitive to small cardiac oscillations caused by pressure perturbations in the carotid arteries or the trachea. While current clinical research considers these as redundant noise, they may contain physiologically relevant information. We propose a method to separate the signal generated by cardiac activity from the one caused by breathing activity. Using only information available from the SSP sensor, we estimate the heart rate and track its variations, then use a set of tuned filters to process the original signal in the frequency domain and reconstruct the cardiac signal. We also include an overview of the technical and physiological factors that may affect the quality of heart rate estimation. The output of our method is then used as a reference to remove the cardiac signal from the original SSP pressure signal, to also optimize the assessment of respiratory activity. We provide a qualitative comparison against methods based on filters with fixed frequency cutoffs. In comparison with ECG-derived heart rate, we achieve an agreement error of 0.06±5.09bpm, with minimal bias drift across the measurement range, and only 6.36% of the estimates larger than 10bpm. Together with qualitative improvements in the characterization of respiratory effort, this opens the development of novel portable clinical devices for the detection and assessment of sleep disordered breathing.