About Caecilians

• The Caecilians are elongated, segmented, limbless amphibians.
• They are classified in the order Gymnophiona or Apoda ("without legs").
• They belong to the same group of animals that includes frogs and salamanders.
• Lacking limbs, caecilians resemble earthworms or snakes in appearance.
• The name Caecilian means "blind". Some caecilian species are eyeless, while others have small eyes hidden under their skin.
• There are about 200 known caecilian species.
• Habitat:
  • Most caecilians inhabit moist tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America, South and Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Almost all caecilians are terrestrial, but they are elusive as they spend the majority of their lives underground.
  • They burrow primarily in forests, but also in grassland, savanna, shrubland, and wetlands.
• Other Features:
  • The smaller species measure less than three inches, but the largest one (Caecilia thompsoni from Colombia) grows to almost five feet long.
  • A hard, thick skull with a pointy snouthelps them move effectively through dirt or mud.
  • Their shiny skin is ringed with skin folds called annuli.
  • They usually come in shades of gray, brown, black, orange, or yellow.
  • Some have tiny, fishlike scales within the rings.
  • They have short, sensory tentacles located between their eyes and nostrils that help them probe their environment and find prey.

Q1: What are amphibians?

Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates (vertebrates have backbones) that don’t have scales. They live part of their lives in water and part on land. The species in this group include frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts. All can breathe and absorb water through their very thin skin. Amphibians also have special skin glands that produce useful proteins. Some transport water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide either into or out of the animal. Others fight bacteria or fungal infections. And at least one—in each species—is used for defense.

Source: Limbless amphibian added to Kaziranga’s fauna

About The Trinity Challenge (TTC)

• It is a charity supporting the creation of data-driven solutions to help protect against global health threats.
• It is a partnership of over 40 leading global organizations across the private, public, and social sectors.
• TC partners are united by the common aim of using data and advanced analytics to create inclusive innovations and build a world that’s better prepared for health emergencies.
• To that purpose, TTC is launching, supporting, and funding public challenges.
• It was launched in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted a global need to be better prepared to tackle healthcare emergencies.
• The initial Challenge asked teams to deliver data-driven solutions to predict, respond to and recover from pandemics.
  • It awarded £5.7 million to teams that developed innovative tools and approaches for better pandemic preparedness and response.
• Following the success of the first Trinity Challenge, the second Challenge - The Trinity Challenge on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), issues a call to the world’s best and brightest minds for data-driven solutions that will protect the power of antibiotics.

IIIT-Delhi's project 'AMRSense: Empowering Communities with a Proactive One Health Ecosystem:

• It was led by IIIT-Delhi, in collaboration with CHRI-PATH, 1mg.com, and ICMR.
• AMRSense addresses the challenges of engaging, motivating, and trainingcommunity health workers (CHWs) in AMR surveillance and management, compounded by the lack of a comprehensive data ecosystem and analytics capabilities.

Q1: What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)?

Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic – are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.

Source: IIT-Delhi project on antimicrobial resistance wins joint second prize in global competition

About Living Will

• A Living Will or Advance Medical Directive, is a document prescribing a person's wishes regarding the medical treatment the person would want if he/she was unable to share his/her wishes or not in a position to make an informed decision by reason of being unconscious or in a coma. 
• Legality of Living Will in India: 
  • It was not legally viable in India until 2018.
  • However, the Supreme Court in Common Cause vs. Union of India (2018), recognised that a terminally ill patient or a person in a persistent vegetative state can execute an “advance medical directive” or a “living will '' to refuse medical treatment, and gave sanction to passive euthanasia and living will/advance directives.
  • The court also laid down principles relating to the procedure for execution of a living will.

Who can draw up an Advance Medical Directive/Living Will?

• An adult who is of a sound and healthy mind and in a position to communicate, relate, and comprehend the purpose and consequences of executing the document.
• It must be voluntary.

Elements of a Living Will

• It should be in writing and clearly state when medical treatment may be withdraw nor if specific medical treatment that will have the effect of delaying the process of death should be given.
• Instructions must be absolutely clear and unambiguous.
• It should mention whether the patient may revoke the instructions/authority at any time.
• It should specify the name of a guardian or close relative who, in the event of the patient becoming incapable of taking decision at the relevant time, will be authorized to give consent to refuse or withdraw medical treatment.

How is Living Will recorded?

• It should be signed by the patient in the presence of two witnesses, preferably independent, and countersigned by a jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), so designated by the concerned district judge.
• The JMFC is under an obligation to supply the requisite copies of the Living Will to the concerned authorities and to inform the immediate family members of the Executor. 
• When and by whom can it be given effect to?
  • When the person becomes terminally ill and is undergoing prolonged medical treatment with no hope of recovery and cure of the ailment, the treating physician, when made aware about the Advance Directive, has to ascertain the genuineness and authenticity of the document from the jurisdictional JMFC before acting upon the same.
  • The physician of the Executor shall then inform the Executoror his guardian/close relative, inter alia, about the details of the illness and the consequences of remaining untreated. 
  • The hospital where the Executor has been admitted shall constitute a Medical Board to form an opinion on whether to certify the instructions regarding withdrawal or refusal of further medical treatment.
  • In the event the Hospital Medical Board certifies the instructions, the hospital shall forthwith inform the jurisdictional Collector about the proposal, who shall then constitute its own Medical Board.
  • This Board jointly visits the hospital, and if they concur with the decision of the previous Medical Board, they may endorse the certificate to carry out the instructions given in the Living Will.
  • The Chairman of the Medical Board shall convey the decision of the Board to the jurisdictional JMFC.
  • Thereafter, the JMFC shall visit the patient and, after examining all aspects, authorise the implementation of the decision of the Board. 
  • In case the life support is withdrawn, the same shall be intimatedby the Magistrate to the High Court, and the High Court shall maintain the requisite records in digital format.
  • However, if there is a difference of opinion between the Board and the Executor or his family members, the parties can prefer a writ petition in the concerned High Court. The decision of the High Court in this regard shall be final and binding.

Q1: What is active and passive euthanasia?

Active euthanasia occurs when the medical professionals, or another person, deliberately do something that causes the patient to die. Passive euthanasia occurs when the patient dies because the medical professionals either don't do something necessary to keep the patient alive, or when they stop doing something that is keeping the patient alive.

Source: Bombay HC pulls up state govt over insufficient mechanism to enforce living wills

About Chenab Rail Bridge

• Location: It is located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
• The 1.3-km-long bridge is located 359 metres above the Chenab riverbed.
• It is the highest single-arch railway bridgein the world.
• It is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project.
• The construction of the Chenab bridge has been a collaborative effort, involving various international organizations and renowned Indian institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and the Geological Survey of India.
• Features:
  • It consists of 17 spans, with the main arch spanning an impressive 467 metres, making it the longest of its kind.
  • The arch consists of steel boxes. Concrete has been filled in the boxes to improve stability.
  • The bridge consists of 93 deck segments, each weighing approximately 85 tonnes. 
  • The bridge has been designed with a life span of 120 years. 
  • It has been designed to withstand high wind speeds of up to 266 Kmph. 
  • It is built to be ‘blast-proof’ and is capable of withstanding the nation’s maximum intensity zone-V earthquake forces.

Key Facts about Chenab River

• It is a major river of India and Pakistan.
• It is a tributary of the Indus River.
• Course:
  • Origin: It is formed by the confluence of two streams, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi in the upper Himalayasin the Lahaul and Spiti Districts of Himachal Pradesh.
  • In its upper reaches, it is also known as the Chandrabhaga.
  • It flows west through Jammu and Kashmir union territory, between the steep cliffs of the Siwalik Range (south) and the Lesser Himalayas (north).
  • Turning southwest, it continues into Pakistan, descending from the uplands into the broad alluvial lowlands of Punjab province. 
  • After receiving the Jhelum River near Trimmu, the Chenab empties into the Sutlej River, a tributary of the Indus River.
• Its total length is about 605 miles (974 km), and it feeds several irrigation canals.
• Tributaries: The tributaries of the Chenab River include Miyar Nalla, Sohal, Thirot, Bhut Nalla, Marusudar, and Lidrari.

Q1: What is the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project?

The USBRL Project involves the construction of a railway line from Udhampur to Baramulla joining the Kashmir valley with the Indian Railways network. It aims to connect Kashmir to the rest of the country and give a push to development in the Valley.

Source: Times of India

About Hooch

• It is a commonly used term for poor quality alcohol, derived from Hoochinoo, a native Alaskan tribe that was known to produce very strong liquor.

o Unlike branded liquor which is produced in factories with sophisticated equipment and rigorous quality control, hooch is made in much more crude settings.

How is Hooch produced?

• All alcohol is produced using two basic processes: fermentation and distillation.
  • Fermentation: When heated, yeast reacts with sugar (from grain, fruits, sugarcane, etc.) to ferment and produce a mixture containing alcohol. This is an age-old process, used to create beverages like beer or wine.
  • Limitation: As fermentation continues, and alcohol levels rise, conditions in the mixture become toxic for the yeast. Eventually, no more fermentation can take place. Thus, to make anything stronger (above 14-18% ABC), beverages need to be distilled.
  • Distillation: This is the process of physically separating alcohol from a fermented mixture using evaporation and condensation.
  • Since different parts of the mixture have different boiling points, heating it up to the correct temperature makes it possible to separate only the alcohol from the water and other remnants. Distilled beverages, or spirits, are far more potent than any fermented beverage.

Why can hooch be dangerous?

• The fermented mixture which is distilled contains more than just consumable alcohol (ethanol). It also contains methanol, an industrial alcohol which is highly toxic for human beings.
• Non-distilled alcoholic beverages like wine contain relatively harmless trace amounts of methanol. But during the distillation, both ethanol and methanol are concentrated. Thus, if done incorrectly, distillation can lead to an end product which contains high quantities of toxic methanol.

What are the effects of spurious liquor?

• Methanol or methyl alcohol can cause impaired vision, high toxicity and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the body produces excessive acid that cannot be flushed out by kidneys.
• The treatment for this is to intravenously administer Fomepizole and ethanol. However, fomepizole can be expensive and unavailable in many parts of India.
• In such cases, doctors administer a mixture of ethanol and water (1:1 ratio).
• Ethanol inhibits methanol’s conversion into toxins and helps in flushing it out of the body either naturally or through dialysis.

Q1: What is yeast?

It is a living microorganism, which has been present in the world for hundreds of millions of years. It can also be used for beer, wine and other tasty foods thanks to its ability to enable natural fermentation.

Source: Indian Express

About Mudgal Fort

• It is located in the state of Karnataka.
• The fort has a 1000-year history having connections to various dynasties, including the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas Deccan Sultanate and Vijayanagara Empire.
• The fort gained prominence during the Bahmani Sultans who ruled large areas of the Deccan Plateau from Gulbarga (now Kalaburagi).
• It later went to the hands of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the Sultanate broke into five States (Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar, Qutb Shahi of Golconda (Hyderabad), Barid Shahi of Bidar, Imad Shahi of Berar and Adil Shahi of Bijapur), the fort was a major cause of clashes between the Vijayanagara Empire and Adil Shahi Sultanate.
• Strategic location
  • Standing on the border of the Adil Shahi and Vijayanagara empires, the Mudgal Fort witnessed as many as 11 battles between the 14th and 16th Centuries.
  • The Bijapur and Vijayanagara viewed it as a symbol of power and pride because of its strategic location to control the large Raichur Doab, the land between Tungabhadra on the south and Krishna on the north.
  • Raichur Doab between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers is fertile land for agriculture. It has also had rich mineral resources including gold.
• Inscriptions
  • Historians and researchers have so far studied as many as 99 inscriptions etched on the fort walls and monuments in Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu, Persian, Arabic and Gujarati languages.
  • Important among them are those that describe the bravery of Malik Murad Khan, the military general of Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur. He was the man who fought successful battles against the Vijayanagara Empire between 1590 and 1610.
• Architectural style
  • The mixed architectural styles of the monuments and traditions followed by the people living inside.
  • Inside the fort there is Ranganathaswamy Temple and Hussain Alam Dargah stand side-by-side sharing a common wall and the compound. 
  • The fort has several gates, each with intricate carvings and strategic placements for defence.
  • The main entrance on the north side of the fort, which is called Fateh Darwaza.

Q1) What are inscriptions in history?

Inscriptions are the writings on stone, metal or some materials as an important historical source. These are valuable historical evidence of the existence and activities of early kings and empires and are the information written on the stones, pillars and other metals.

Source: The Hindu

About Capsaicin

• It is a naturally-occurring botanical irritant in chili peppers, synthetically derived for pharmaceutical formulations.
• It is most abundantly found in the “placenta” (white membrane to which seeds are attached) of some chili peppers — fruits of plants of genus Capsicum.
• How does it act in humans?
  • The chemical binds to TRPV1 receptors in humans’ nose, mouth, skin, and insides. These receptors help in detecting heat (and pain), and are most commonly activated by a rise in temperature.
  • But capsaicin ‘tricks’ them into reacting, even though there is no actual temperature rise. The brain, thus, believes that the body is on fire, causing the painful, burning sensation associated with consuming chilis.
  • The body then tries to cool down — hence the sweating, and the red face (capillaries just below the skin dilate, as blood rushes to the surface of the body, where it can radiate heat away more easily). The runny nose or teary eyes are the body’s attempt at expelling the heat-causing element. So are the gut cramps and diarrhea.
• It is most often used as a topical analgesic and exists in many formulations of cream, liquid, and patch preparations of various strengths.

Q1: What is Analgesic?

Any drug that relieves pain selectively without blocking the conduction of nerve impulses, markedly altering sensory perception, or affecting consciousness is called as Analgesic.

Source: Why chilis burn. And why humans still love them

About Pro-tem Speaker

• Pro-tem is a Latin phrase which translates to 'for the time being' in English, and so the pro-tem speaker is a temporary speaker appointed for a limited period of time to conduct the work in Lok Sabha or in state legislatures.
• A Pro-tem speaker is chosen for the conduct of the house when the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies have been elected and the vote for the speaker and deputy speaker has not taken place.
• The Constitution does not expressly use the term ‘Pro-tem Speaker’.
• The office of the pro tem speaker ceases to exist after the new Speaker of the House is chosen.

Who selects the Pro-tem Speaker?

• The Speaker Pro-tem is appointed by the President of India/Governor.
• The President/Governor administers the oath of office to the pro-tem Speaker.
• As per convention, a senior most member will be appointed as the pro tem speaker with the agreement of assembly members, who then carry on the activities until the permanent speaker is chosen.

Duties:

• Presiding over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha/ State Legislative Assemblies.
• Administering the oath of office to the newly elected MPs/MLAs.
• Conducting the floor test to prove the government’s majority.
• Holding the vote to elect the speaker and deputy speaker

Q1: How is the Lok Sabha Speaker elected?

The Lok Sabha Speaker is elected from among the members of the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The Lok Sabha MPs cast their votes in a secret ballot. The candidate who secures the majority of votes becomes the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Any member of the Lok Sabha can be nominated for the position of Speaker. Usually, seniority, experience and impartiality are considered important factors in the selection of the Speaker. The Speaker holds office until the dissolution of the Lok Sabha unless he/she resigns or is removed from office by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the Lok Sabha.

Source: Bhartruhari Mahtab appointed pro tem Speaker of Lok Sabha

About Diatoms

• These are photosynthetic, single celled organism.
• These are microscopic algae and serve as a base of the aquatic food chain. Due to their sensitivity towards any water chemistry changes, they are excellent indicators of aquatic health.
• They are a major group of algae and form one of the most common forms of phytoplankton.
• Habitat: They are found in almost every aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters.
• Diatoms have cell walls made of silica, Each species has a distinct pattern of tiny holes in the cell wall (frustule) through which they absorb nutrients and get rid of waste.
• Collectively, they are responsible for generating up to 50% of the oxygen produced globally each year.

Key facts about Indiconema

• It differs in having a pore field at both the head and foot pole rather than having only at the foot pole.
• Researchers reported one species of Indiconema from the Eastern Ghats and another from the Western Ghats. A similar pattern of sharing endemic elements between two mountain systems has been observed for other endemic-rich groups, such as reptiles.
• Based on the morphological features of this group, the researchers have suggested that Indiconema is sister to Afrocymbella, a genus endemic to East Africa.

Q1: What is Algae?

These are a diverse group of aquatic organisms that have the ability to conduct photosynthesis. Certain algae are familiar to most people; for instance, seaweeds (such as kelp or phytoplankton), pond scum or the algal blooms in lakes.

Source: A new freshwater diatom genus discovered from the Eastern and Western Ghats