Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 13, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The first live specimen of a yellow-legged hornet, which “poses a threat to honeybees and other pollinators,” was recently detected in the wild in the United States.

About Yellow-Legged Hornet:

• The Asian hornet, also known as the yellow-legged hornet or Asian predatory wasp, is a species of hornet indigenous to Southeast Asia. 
• Scientific Name: Vespa velutina
• It is a predatory insect that commonly feeds on other social bees and wasps, including honey bees.
• This species has become invasive in several parts of the world, where it poses a threat to local ecosystems and bee populations.
• It is distinct from the infamous Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia), often referred to as the "murder hornet," which is a different and larger species found in parts of Asia, including Japan. While both species are predators of bees, the Yellow-Legged Hornet has become a particular concern in parts of Europe due to its invasive nature and impact on local ecosystems.
• Features:
• It is relatively large, with adults typically measuring between 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) in length.
• It has a dark brown or black body with a distinctive bright yellow or orange band on its fourth abdominal segment.
• As its name suggests, it has yellow legs, which is a key identifying feature.
• It is a very aggressive species and its sting is very painful.
• They are carnivorousand primarily feed on other insects, especially bees and wasps. They are known to be skilled hunters of honeybees.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A project of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for gender sensitivity in Rajasthan has received support from the experts working for the elimination of customs promoting patriarchy.

• It is an international development agency created in 1968 to support the execution of projects and programmes in the area of population and sexual and reproductive health.
• Its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
• In 1987, it was officially renamed as the United Nations Population Fund but the original abbreviation UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) was retained.
• Headquarters: New York
• It is not directly responsible for the collection of primary statistics; it plays an important role in the technical and financial support of statistical activities in countries, such as population censuses and thematic surveys etc.
• UNFPA funds assistance, research, and advocacy programs in three major areas:
• Reproductive health, including family planning, safe motherhood, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases,
• The population problems of developed and developing countries and possible strategies for addressing them.
• Issues related to the status of women, including the gender gap in education.
• UNFPA assistance programs are undertaken only in response to government requests.

Hence both statements are correct.

Railways Ministry will establish Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras at railway stations across the country. 

• These are set up under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana, which was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in November 2008.
• Objective: To provide quality medicines at affordable prices for all, particularly the poor, so as to reduce out-of-pocket expenses in healthcare.
• They provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.
• All therapeutic medicines are made available from Jan Aushadhi Stores.
• Jan Aushadhi stores also sell allied medical products commonly sold in chemist shops so as to improve the viability of running the Jan Aushadhi store.
• Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs for co-coordinating procurement, supply, and marketing of generic drugs through the PMBKs.
• Who can open a Jan Aushadhi Kendra?
  • • State Governments or any organization / reputed NGOs / Trusts / Private hospitals / charitable institutions / Doctors / Unemployed pharmacists/ individual entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for the new Jan Aushadhi Kendra.
    • The applicants shall have to employ one B Pharma / D Pharma degree holder as Pharmacist in their proposed store.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

British government's initiative to put asylum-seekers on a housing barge suffered as Legionella bacteria were found on the barge.

• Legionnaire’s disease is a severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection.
• It's caused by a bacterium known as legionella.
• This bacterium is found in lakes and ponds, but they can also develop in tanks and other water systems.
• Transmission: The most common form of transmission of Legionella is inhalation of contaminated aerosols from contaminated water. 
• Symptoms: The main symptoms are fever, chills, headache, malaise and muscle pain (myalgia).
• Treatment: Treatments exist, but there is no vaccine currently available for Legionnaires’ disease.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

According to a recent study published, patients with low levels of vitamin K in their blood are more likely to have reduced lung function and suffer from asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and wheezing.

About Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD):

• COPD is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems.
• There are two main forms of COPD:
• Chronic bronchitis, which involves a long-term cough with mucus.
• Emphysema, which involves damage to the lungs over time.
• Most people with COPD have a combination of both conditions.
• Causes: It's typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke.
• Signs and symptoms:
• The most common symptoms of COPD are difficulty breathing, chronic cough (sometimes with phlegm) and feeling tired.
• COPD symptoms can get worse quickly. These are called flare-ups. These usually last for a few days and often require additional medicine.
• People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions.
• Treatment:
• COPD isn’t curable, but it can get better by not smoking, avoiding air pollution and getting vaccines.
• It can be treated with medicines, oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Key Facts about Vitamin K:

• It is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two forms.
• The main type is called phylloquinone, found in green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, and spinach. 
• The other type, menaquinones, is found in some animal foods and fermented foods. Menaquinones can also be produced by bacteria in the human body. 
• Vitamin K helps to make various proteins that are needed for blood clotting and the building of bones.
• Vitamin K is found throughout the body, including the liver, brain, heart, pancreas, and bone.
• It is broken down very quickly and excreted in urine or stool. Because of this, it rarely reaches toxic levels in the body even with high intakes, as may sometimes occur with other fat-soluble vitamins.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

An Indian-origin researcher, along with his team recently identified 135 new melanin genes associated with pigmentation.

About Melanin:

• Melanin is a substance in your body that produces hair, eye and skin pigmentation.
• It is present in human and animal skin to varying degrees, and is responsible for your unique eye, hair and skin color.
• It also absorbs harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays and protects your cells from sun damage.
• Melanin is produced within special structures called melanosomes. Melanosomes are found inside melanin-producing pigment cells called melanocytes.
• Although all humans have the same number of melanocytes, the amount of melanin they produce differs and gives rise to the variation in human skin colour.
• People with more melanin generally have darker skin, eyes and hair compared to those with little melanin. 
• Types of melanin: There are three different types of melanin, including:
• Eumelanin:
• There are two types of eumelanin: black and brown. Eumelanin is responsible for dark colors in skin, eyes and hair.
• People with brown or black hair have varying amounts of brown and black eumelanin.
• It provides protection against UV radiation by absorbing and dispersing it.
• Pheomelanin:
• It is responsible for lighter colors, such as red and yellow.
• It is less effective at protecting against UV radiation compared to eumelanin.
• Neuromelanin: While eumelanin and pheomelanin control the colors of things you see (such as skin, hair and eyes), neuromelanin is responsible for the color of your neurons.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Home Minister recently congratulated the team of the NAFIS of NCRB for winning the Gold Award under the Excellence in Government Process Reengineering for Digital Transformation Category-1 of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

About National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS):

• The NAFIS is a pan-India searchable database of crime and criminal-related fingerprints. 
• It is managed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) at the Central fingerprint bureau, based in New Delhi.
• The main objective of the web-based application is to collect fingerprint data of all the criminals from all the states and the Union Territories.
• It will enable law enforcement agencies to upload, trace and retrieve information from the database 24x7 in real-time.
• The Working Process of NAFIS:
• NCRB enables law enforcement agencies to upload, trace, and retrieve data from the database.
• Within 24 hours, NAFIS provides a unique 10-digit National Fingerprint Number (NFN) to each criminal who is arrested for the crime.
• The unique ID will be used for a lifetime of an offender. Different crimes registered under different FIRs will be logged as incidents belonging to the same NFN.
• The first two digits of the ID will be the state code of the state where the criminal is registered, followed by a sequence number. The state partition will have IDs belonging to a state. 
• Apart from this, a digital record will be added as storage to match the fingerprints in the future.
• With NAFIS, it is possible to locate a person of interest in a matter of minutes and connect that individual’s name to any active warrants, warnings, or information about related criminal conduct stored in other police information reference systems.

Hence all three statements are correct.

Experts have recently warned pesticide sellers against the sale and storage of glyphosate as its exposure is known to cause cancer. 

About Glyphosate:

• Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide that can kill certain weeds and grasses.
• The product is used primarily in agriculture but also in forestry and lawn and garden care.
• Glyphosate is a small molecule made of a linear carbon chain with weaker bonds, which makes glyphosate less persistent in the environment.
• In India, it goes by various brand names, including Roundup, Glycel, and Brake.
• Herbicidal Action:
• Glyphosate works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP synthase, which is essential for the synthesis of certain amino acids that plants need for growth.
• By disrupting this enzyme, glyphosate interferes with the plant's ability to produce proteins, leading to the eventual death of the plant.
• Broad-Spectrum:
• Glyphosate is considered a broad-spectrum herbicide, meaning it can effectively control a wide variety of plants, including grasses, broadleaf plants, and woody plants.
• It is effective only on plants that grow above the water. It will not be effective on plants that are submerged or have most of their foliage underwater, nor will it control regrowth from seed.
• Systemic Nature:
• Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide, which means it is absorbed by the plant's leaves and then translocated throughout the plant's vascular system.
• This allows it to reach various parts of the plant, including the roots, leading to effective control of both above-ground and below-ground plant parts.
• Glyphosate is degraded in soil and water by microbesand binds tightly to soil particles, which prevents the leaching of glyphosate into groundwater.
• Glyphosate does not degrade quickly in plants. As a result, it is possible that glyphosate residues can occur in food products.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A young male tiger recently died in a road hit near Murdoli village in the buffer zone of the Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve.

About Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is situated in Gondia and Shandara Districts of Maharashtra.
• It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1970. In 2012, state government announced to merging this sanctuary with another national parkto include in Tiger Project, now called as Nagzira Navegoan Tiger Reserve.
• It comprises Nawegaon National Park, Nawegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is connected with many surrounding tiger reserves like Pench, Kanha, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Indravati Tiger Reserve etc.
• Topography: The topography is undulating, and the highest point viz. ‘Zenda Pahad’ is around 702 m above Mean Sea Level.
• Vegetation: Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest which includes dry mixed forests to moist forest type.
• Flora: There are 364 species of plants and the major trees are: Terminalia tomentosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Anogeisus lotifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Diospyrus melanoxylon, Ougeinia oogenesis etc.
• Fauna: The major wild animals are: Tiger, Panther, Small Indian Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackal, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Ratel, Common Giant Flying Squirrel, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Four Horned Antelope, Mouse Deer and Pangolin.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare informed Lok Sabha that ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bengaluru (IIHR) has developed a variant of hydroponics.

• Hydroponics is a viable alternative to traditional farming methods for soil-less cultivation for enhancing productivity and water use efficiency.
• Hydroponics is a new concept in India and gaining popularity among entrepreneurs and innovative farmers, who are looking for sustainable and efficient ways to grow crops.
• At present, this technology is mostly confined to urban farming, rooftop gardening and commercial farming.
• Cocoponics” or the soil-less production of vegetables, using cocopeat as a substrate, which has been found to be comparatively more successful in many vegetable crops. 
• The Institute has developed the complete production technology including a liquid nutrient formulation for soilless cultivation of zucchini, colour cabbage, chilli, brinjal, palak, amaranthus, coriander, cucumber, french bean, peas, cow pea, dolichos, 

Hence, option d is the correct answer.