Breeding Ecology of Amolops himalayanus (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae) in Bodidrang Stream, Trashigang District, Bhutan

The breeding activity of Himalayan sucker frog (Amolops himalayanus), was studied under natural conditions at Bodidrang stream, Kanglung, Trashigang, Bhutan, for 12 months. We examined the correlation between meteorological factors (relative humidity, temperature and rainfall) and sightings of adult, juvenile, and tadpole/larvae individuals as well as egg masses from monthly surveys using Pearson Correlation in statistical software (Python 3.6). A. himalayanus was an explosive breeder influenced by the high seasonality in Bhutan. Adult, juvenile, and larvae individuals recorded had a positive Pearson correlation with monthly mean rainfall. There was a strong correlation between rainfall and adult sightings (r=0.732), however tadpoles sightings had a low correlation (r=0.178). We observed moderate positive correlations of temperature and relative humidity with adult (r=0.536; r=0.442) and juvenile (r=0.398; r=0.252) individuals, while tadpoles had low positive correlation for relative humidity (r =0.048) respectively. Brief note of amplexus position of A. himalayanus is discussed.

A Method for Improving Imputation and Prediction Accuracy of Highly Seasonal Univariate Data with Large Periods of Missingness

Imputation of missing data in datasets with high seasonality plays an important role in data analysis and prediction. Failure to appropriately account for missing data may lead to erroneous findings, false conclusions, and inaccurate predictions. The essence of a good imputation method is its missingness-recovery-ability, i.e., the ability to deal with large periods of missing data in the dataset and the ability to extract the right characteristics (e.g., seasonality pattern) buried under the dataset to be analyzed. Univariate imputation is usually incapable of providing a reasonable imputation for a variable when periods of missing values are large. On the other hand, the default multivariate imputation approach cannot provide an accurate imputation for a variable when missing values of other correlated variables used for imputation occur at exactly the same time intervals. To deal with these drawbacks and to provide feasible imputations in such scenarios, we propose a novel method that converts a single variable into a multivariate form by exploiting the high seasonality and random missingness of this variable. After this conversion, multivariate imputation can then be applied. We then test the proposed method on an LTE spectrum dataset for imputing a single variable, such as the average cell throughput. We compare the performance of our proposed method with Kalman filtering and default method for multivariate imputation. The performance evaluation results clearly show that the proposed method significantly outperforms Kalman filtering and default method in terms of imputation and prediction accuracy.

Seasonal mortality patterns and regional contrasts in Portugal

The main aim of this study is to identify the geographical seasonal mortality patterns in Portugal and, for the first time, to assess the relationship between seasonal and overall mortality. Monthly data from the Portuguese mortality database (2000-2009) by major cause of death were analysed and standardized to 30 days with adjustments for leap years. The chi-square goodness-of-fit test was used to compare the observed monthly deaths with deaths that could be expected if mortality were randomly distributed throughout the year. The seasonal burden was measured using the excess winter deaths (EWD) rate and the seasonal impact of winter on mortality was assessed through the EWD Index. The regions were clustered according to the overall mortality rate and the seasonal impact: 1-low seasonality and high values of overall mortality; 2-high seasonality and high values of overall mortality; 3-low values of seasonality and low overall mortality; 4-high seasonality and low overall mortality. Significant seasonal mortality increases were found in all causes of death. There were 86,000 EWDs, mostly through circulatory and respiratory diseases. 73% of the population lives in regions with high winter vulnerability to respiratory mortality and 60% in regions with high winter vulnerability to circulatory mortality. This study reinforces the idea that vulnerability to cold weather may play an important role in the public health in Portugal. This knowledge may be used to construct a set of regulations or policies designed to implement better health planning procedures and more effective warning systems.

The Monsoon and the Market for Money in Late-colonial India

Banking experienced large growth in colonial India along with a process of commercialization of agriculture. Yet, the rate of aggregate saving or investment remained low. This article is an attempt to resolve this paradox. It suggests that traditional forms of banking were helped by the formalization of indigenous negotiable instruments, but that transactions between bankers, merchants, and peasants were characterized by a limited use of legal instruments. The limited circulation of bills in this sphere is attributed, among other factors, to high seasonality in the demand for money. Seasonality-induced distortions in the organization of the money market made indigenous banking an unsuitable agent to promote saving and finance industrialization.

The Almost Great Escape: The Continuing Tourism Development of Croatia as a Destination

The tourism industry in Croatia is experiencing a slower development than other European countries. Because of their current union in the communist state of Yugoslavia and the Civil War between Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Croatian Tourism Board needs to recreate a stable infrastructure in which to grow their tourism. Some of the occurring issues with current Croatian tourism is high seasonality, lack of multiple foreign languages, underdeveloped transportation structures, and homogenization of Croatian culture. This paper offers a brief history of Croatian tourism, current developments, current development issues, and suggestions for a change in managerial structure to increase the amount of tourists to the state and to overall improve the Croatian economy while focusing on interdisciplinary methods.