Daily Prelims Notes 19 July 2020

July 19, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

1. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

Subject: Government Organisation

Context:

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to cut down its 2020-21 syllabuses by 30% for students from Classes 9-12 in view of difficulty to have classes.

Concept:

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.
The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to:
undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education
prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc.
organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers
develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices
collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions
act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education; and act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalization of Elementary Education.
In addition, NCERT is an implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries in the field of school education.

National Curriculum Framework

NCF provides the framework for creation of the school syllabi and the writing of textbooks, while giving guidelines on teaching practices in India.
It addresses four issues:
Educational purpose
Educational experience
Organization of experience
Assessing learner

2. Psoriasis

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Itolizumab, a monoclonal antibody used to treat acute psoriasis has got regulatory approval to treat cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients due to COVID-19.

Concept:

Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes red, itchy scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp.
Psoriasis is a common, long-term (chronic) disease with no cure.
Psoriasis is thought to be an immune system problem that causes the skin to regenerate at faster than normal rates. In the most common type of psoriasis, known as plaque psoriasis, this rapid turnover of cells results in scales and red patches.

3. Vertical transmission vs Horizontal transmission

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

A study has found evidence that confirms vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus from the mother to the foetus.

Concept:

In horizontal transmission, viruses are transmitted among individuals of the same generation, while vertical transmission occurs from mothers to their offspring.
Vertical transmission refers to the transmission of an infection from a pregnant woman to her child.
It can be antenatal (before birth), perinatal (weeks immediately prior to or after birth) or postnatal (after birth).
This is of grave concern not just because it can potentially cause a newborn to be very sick, but also because the mechanism of how and when this happens is not always very clear
Among infections of which vertical transmission has been known to happen are HIV, Zika, rubella and the herpes virus.
In fact, one of the biggest worries about the Zika outbreak a couple of years ago was the possibility of babies being born with birth defects.

4. Vitamin D

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

There have been considerable discussions in scientific circles on the importance of vitamin D in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concept:

Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential in very small amounts for supporting normal physiologic function. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body’s fatty tissue.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Calcium and phosphate are two minerals that must be there to have normal bone formation.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis in adults or rickets in children.
It has the potential to modulate the cytokine storm seen in serious COVID19 patients, and it can improve innate immunity by increasing the production of cathelicidins and defensins in our body.
Defensinsare small cysteine-rich cationic proteins across cellular life, including vertebrate and invertebrate animals, plants, and fungi. They are host defense peptides, with members displaying either direct antimicrobial activity, immune signalling activities, or both.

5. Faults and earthquake

Subject: Geography

Context:

Geologists have discovered a series of faults at the foot of the Himalayas.

Concept:

An earthquake is shaking or trembling of the earth’s surface, caused by the seismic waves or earthquake waves that are generated due to a sudden movement (sudden release of energy) in the earth’s crust (shallow-focus earthquakes) or upper mantle (some shallow-focus and all intermediate and deep-focus earthquakes).
The point where the energy is released is called the focus or the hypocentre of an earthquake.
The point on the surface directly above the focus is called epicentre (first surface point to experience the earthquake waves).
A line connecting all points on the surface where the intensity is the same is called an isoseismic line.

Causes:

Fault Zones
Plate tectonics
Volcanic activity
Human Induced Earthquakes

Waves:

There are several different kinds of seismic waves, and they all move in different ways. The two main types of waves are body wavesand surface waves.
Body waves can travel through the earth’s inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water
The first kind of body wave is the P waveor primary wave. This is the fastest kind of seismic wave, and, consequently, the first to ‘arrive’ at a seismic station. The P wave can move through solid rock and fluids, like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It pushes and pulls the rock it moves through just like sound waves push and pull the air.
The second type of body wave is the S waveor secondary wave, which is the second wave felt in an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock, not through any liquid medium. It is this property of S waves that led seismologists to conclude that the Earth’s outer core is a liquid.
S waves move rock particles up and down, or side-to-side–perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave propagation)

Distribution of Earthquakes

Measuring earthquake: Mercallivs Richter

The Mercalli scale bases its measurement on the observed effects of the earthquake and describes its intensity. It is a linear measurement.
On the other hand, the Richter scale measures the seismic waves, or the energy released, causing the earthquake and describes the quake’s magnitude. It is a logarithmic

Faults:

A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other.
This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake – or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers.
Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time. During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other.
The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in between.
Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the surface (known as the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults.
Faults which move along the direction of the dip plane are dip-slip faults and described as either normal or reverse (thrust), depending on their motion.
Faults which move horizontally are known as strike-slip faults and are classified as either right-lateral or left-lateral.
Faults which show both dip-slip and strike-slip motion are known as oblique-slip faults.

6. Plasmid DNA Vaccine

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

ZyCOV-D is an indigenously developed plasmid DNA vaccine candidate for COVID 19 which has received approval for human trial.

Concept:

DNA vaccines are considered as third-generation vaccines.
The recombinant DNA technology plays an important role in the production of DNA vaccines.
It involves the direct introduction into appropriate tissues of a plasmid containing the DNA sequence encoding the antigen(s) against which an immune response is sought, and relies on the in situ production of the target antigen.
This approach offers a number of potential advantages over traditional approaches, including the stimulation of both B- and T-cell responses, improved vaccine stability, the absence of any infectious agent and the relative ease of large-scale manufacture.

7. NDRF

Subject:Polity

Context:

The government has come out with the modalities for contributions to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

Concept:

As per Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005, receipt of contributions and grants from any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management in the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) can be made.
The National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), constituted under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, supplements SDRF of a State, in case of a disaster of severe nature, provided adequate funds are not available in SDRF.
It is a fund managed by the Central Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster.
NDRF amount can be spent only towards meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation.
It is financed through the levy of a cess on certain items, chargeable to excise and customs duty, and approved annually through the Finance Bill.
The requirement for funds beyond what is available under the NDRF is met through general budgetary resources.
A provision also exists in the DM Act to encourage any person or institution to make a contribution to the NDRF.
It is kept under “Public Accounts” of Government of India.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audits the accounts of NDRF.
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) monitors relief activities for calamities associated with drought, hailstorms, pest attacks and cold wave /frost while rest of the natural calamities are monitored by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

8. IMD alerts

Subject: Geography

Context:

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘Red’ alert for Mumbai for the next 24 hours owing to active weather systems leading to continuous downpour across the city and suburbs.

Concept:

Alerts by the IMD are colour-coded from Green to Red.
Green stands for No warning: no action needs to be taken by the authorities, and the forecast is of light to moderate rain.
A Yellow alert signifies “Watch”, and authorities are advised to “Be updated” on the situation.
An Orange warning stands for “Alert”, and authorities are expected to “Be prepared”. The forecast during an Orange warning is of heavy to very heavy rainfall.
A Red alert stands for “Warning”, and asks authorities to “Take action”. The forecast is for extremely heavy rainfall.