A simple scaling procedure to assess the impact of climate change on extreme precipitation

In this study we used the products of the Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to evaluate the impact of climate alterations on extreme events across the Region of Sicily (Italy). Data have been retrieved from EURO-CORDEX simulations at 12 km of spatial resolution. Because of the low resolution, the RCMs products are likely unsuitable to reproduce consistently sub-daily heavy precipitations. For this reason, extreme events at daily scale were first checked out by comparing the quantiles estimated from raingauge observations and RCMs outputs. Secondly, we implemented a temporal downscaling approach to estimate rainfall for durations of 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours from the modeled daily precipitation. La…

Objective regional frequency analysis of extreme precipitation in Sicily, Italy

The extreme events have large impacts on society and are likely to increase under climate change. For design and management decisions, particularly around hydraulic infrastructures, accurate estimates of precipitation magnitudes are needed at different durations. In this paper, the regional frequency analysis has been implemented and applied to precipitation data recorded in Sicily, Italy. Annual maximum series for rainfall durations of 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h provided by about 130 rain gauges were used. The Regional Frequency Analysis (RFA) has been used to identify the homogeneous regions using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed by a clustering analysis, through k-means, aimed to id…

Spatial analysis techniques for mapping the annual surface runoff in Sicily under the Budyko’s framework

This work shows a new approach, based on the Budyko framework, for mapping the mean annual surface runoff and deriving the probability distribution of the annual runoff in arid and semi-arid watersheds. We analytically provide the annual runoff distribution as the derived distribution of annual rainfall and potential evapotranspiration. The simulated long-term annual runoff and its distribution have been compared with historical records at several gauged stations, obtaining satisfactory matching.

Adherence issues related to sublingual immunotherapy as perceived by allergists.

Silvia Scurati1, Franco Frati1, Gianni Passalacqua2, Paola Puccinelli1, Cecile Hilaire1, Cristoforo Incorvaia3, Italian Study Group on SLIT Compliance 1Scientific and Medical Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Genoa; 3Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, ItalyObjectives: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a viable alternative to subcutaneous immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma, and is widely used in clinical practice in many European countries. The clinical efficacy of SLIT has been established in a number of clinical trials and meta-analyses. However, because SLIT is self-administered…

Objective regional frequency analysis and future change of extreme precipitation in Sicily, Italy