Indian stock market has been witnessing volatility amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and swing trading has been trending on the internet.

Swing Trading:

• It is a style of trading where investors keep their positions for longer than a single day, typically holding onto stocks for several days or weeks.
• The goal of swing trading is to capture gains in a stock''s value as it swings up and down.
• A swing trader will look for stocks with high volume (a lot of trading activity) and volatility (price movement).
• The entry into a swing trade involves setting up stop-loss orders (to limit potential losses) and target prices (to capture profits) based on support and resistance levels.
• Swing traders buy at support (lower price level) and sell at resistance (higher price level) anticipating the stock''s price to swing back and forth within these bounds.

What''s the objective of swing trading?

• The primary goal of swing trading is to profit from short- to medium-term fluctuations in stock prices.
• Traders aim to enter and exit positions quickly, typically holding stocks for 2 days to a few weeks.
• Swing traders capitalise on both upward and downward movements in the market, seeking to take advantage of trends and momentum.
• Swing trading offers flexibility and can be less time-consuming compared to day trading. Traders can benefit from short- to medium-term gains and adjust their positions swiftly based on market conditions.

Newly Discovered Peptide Could Treat Incurable Bacterial Infections.

• A peptide with antimicrobial properties derived from cows shows promise for treating incurable infections from the bacteria commonly found in the intestines.

The Threat of Antibiotic Resistance:

• The CDC reports that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a growing global health threat. A 2019 study found that nearly 5 million people died worldwide that year from drug-resistant infections. A large portion of those deaths are attributable to K. pneumoniae because it has a 50% death rate without antibiotic therapy.
• These bacteria are more resistant to drugs when they live in a biofilm — microorganisms that stick together and are embedded in a protective slime. Recent studies have shown that 60-80% of infections are associated with bacteria biofilms, which increase their drug resistance.

Peptides:

• Peptides are chains of amino acids that are naturally found in the body.
• The amino acids in a peptide are connected to one another in a sequence by bonds called peptide bonds.

Peptides vs. Protiens:

• Proteins and peptides are fundamental components of cells that carry out important biological functions.
• Typically, peptides are distinguished from proteins by their shorter length, although the cut-off number of amino acids for defining a peptide and protein can be arbitrary.
• Traditionally, peptides are defined as molecules that consist of between 2 and 50 amino acids.
• Meanwhile, proteins are long molecules made up of multiple peptide subunits, and are also known as polypeptides.
• In addition, peptides tend to be less well defined in structure than proteins, which can adopt complex conformations known as secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures.
• Proteins can be digested by enzymes (other proteins) into short peptide fragments.

Functions of Peptides:

• The body makes lots of different peptides, each of which has a different role.
• They may provide pro-aging support, anti-inflammatory, or muscle-building properties.
• Some peptides act as hormones, which are molecules, that when released from cells, affect other areas of the body.
• Due to the potential health benefits of peptides, many supplements are available that contain peptides that manufacturers have derived either from food or made synthetically.

What are Amino Acids?

• Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins.
• Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life.
• There are 20 different amino acids.
• A protein consists of one or more chains of amino acids (called polypeptides) whose sequence is encoded in a gene.
• Some amino acids can be synthesized in the body, but others (essential amino acids)cannot and must be obtained from a person’s diet.
• The nine essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Endosymbiotic Theory

• The endosymbiotic theory states that some of the organelles in today''s eukaryotic cells were once prokaryotic microbes.
• In this theory, the first eukaryotic cell was probably an amoeba-like cell that got nutrients by phagocytosis and contained a nucleus that formed when a piece of the cytoplasmic membrane pinched off around the chromosomes.
• Some of these amoeba-like organisms ingested prokaryotic cells that then survived within the organism and developed a symbiotic relationship.
• Mitochondria formed when bacteria capable of aerobic respiration were ingested; chloroplasts formed when photosynthetic bacteria were ingested. They eventually lost their cell wall and much of their DNA because they were not of benefit within the host cell.
• The endosymbiotic theory describes how a large host cell and ingested bacteria could easily become dependent on one another for survival, resulting in a permanent relationship.
• Over millions of years of evolution, mitochondria and chloroplasts have become more specialized, and today they cannot live outside the cell.

Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes:

• All living things can be divided into three basic domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
• The primarily single-celled organisms found in the Bacteria and Archaea domains are known as prokaryotes. These organisms are made of prokaryotic cells—the smallest, simplest, and most ancient cells.
• Organisms in the Eukarya domain is made of more complex eukaryotic cells. These organisms, called eukaryotes, can be unicellular or multicellular and include animals, plants, fungi, and protists.
• The biggest distinction between them is that eukaryotic cells have a distinct nucleus containing the cell''s genetic material, while prokaryotic cells don''t have a nucleus and have free-floating genetic material instead.
• Eukaryotes developed at least 2.7 billion years ago, following 1 to 1.5 billion years of prokaryotic evolution.
• Eukaryotic cells have several other membrane-bound organelles not found in prokaryotic cells. These include the mitochondria, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, golgi complex, and in the case of plant cells, chloroplasts (conduct photosynthesis).
• Although prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have many differences, they share some common features, including the following:

1. DNA.
2. Cell (or plasma) membrane
3. Cytoplasm: Jelly-like fluid within a cell that is composed primarily of water, salts, and proteins.
4. Ribosomes: Organelles that make proteins.

The government’s Department of Pension & Pensioners'' Welfare recently started the Integrated Pensioners’ Portal in collaboration with Bank of India.

Integrated Pensioners’ Portal:

• The portal is specifically designed to ensure complete digitization of the pension processing and payment system.
• It combines the pension processing and payment services of five banks (Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank) into a single window.
• Most pension-disbursing banks will be integrated with the portal later.
• Its primary objective is to achieve transparency and efficiency in pension-related services.
• With this system, the pensioner''s personal and service particulars can be captured, which enables the online submission of pension forms.
• Retirees will also be notified of the progress of their pension sanction through SMS or e-mail, keeping them informed throughout the process.
• A major feature of the IPP is that retirees can access their monthly pension slips, check the status of life certificates, submit Form 16, and view statements of arrears paid.
• The portal has a Bhavishya platform and a Centralised Pension Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS).

Bhavishya platform:

• It is an online Pension Sanction & Payment Tracking System launched by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare.
• It provides online tracking of pension sanction and payment process by the individual as well as the administrative authorities for all actions preparatory to grant pension and other retirement benefits, as well as payment of monthly pension after retirement.
• The system captures the pensioners personal and service particulars.
• The forms for processing pensions can be submitted online.
• It keeps retiring employees informed of the progress of the pension sanction process through SMS/ Email. The system obviates delays in the payment of pensions by ensuring complete transparency and establishing accountability in the pension sanction and payment process.
• The system obviates delays in the payment of pensions by ensuring complete transparency.

CPENGRAMS:

• CPENGRAMS is an online web-enabled system for speedy redressal of grievances related to pension by various Central Government Ministries/ Departments/Organizations.
• This system, besides providing a faster access to pensioners, offers the following online facilities:
• Registration of pension grievances online
• Forwarding of reminders on line
• Query on the status of any of the registered grievances
• Available (24*7) basis for submission of grievance online
• It has been developed with the objective of speedy redress and effective monitoring of the grievances besides providing fast access to pensioners.
• Pensioners can also appeal if they are not satisfied with the redressal of their grievance.

Eye on modernising submarine fleet, Indian Navy floats Rs 60,000 Crore tenders.

• A massive Rs 60,000 crore contract to modernize the Indian Navy submarine fleet to build six stealth submarines equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology has started with trials of competing teams at Mazagaon Docks, Mumbai.

What is AIP?

• With the emergence of submarines, there was a problem finding satisfactory forms of propulsion underwater.
• Traditional diesel-electric submarines need to surface frequently to charge their batteries and have an underwater endurance of only a few days.
• As battery technology improved, the endurance of these submarines increased proportionally. But it was not enough to last them beyond a week.
• In 1908, the Imperial Russian Navy launched the submarine Pochtovy, which used a gasoline engine fed with compressed air and exhausted underwater.
• These two approaches, the use of a fuel that provides energy to an open-cycle system, and the provision of oxygen to an aerobic engine in a closed cycle, characterise AIP today.
• Most of these systems generate electricity, which, in turn drives an electric motor for propulsion or recharges the boat’s batteries.
• The introduction of AIP vastly improved the underwater endurance of these submarines and gave them a distinct advantage.
• AIP is mostly implemented as an auxiliary source, with the traditional diesel engine handling surface propulsion.
• AIP technology can be installed on existing, older-generation submarines by inserting a new hull section during a retrofit.
• A typical conventional power plant provides 3 megawatts maximum, and an AIP source around 10 percent of that. A nuclear submarine’s propulsion plant is much greater than 20 megawatts.

Advantages of AIP system:

• It allows the submarines to stay for longer hours in the water.
• It decreases the noise levels made by the submarines. This makes it hard to detect the submarines.
• Types of AIP: Open-cycle systems, Closed-cycle diesel engines, Closed-cycle steam turbines Stirling cycle engines and Fuel cells.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is using the fuel cells-based AIP System. It is unique as hydrogen is generated onboard. The plant was operated in endurance mode and max power mode as per the user requirements. The system is being developed by the Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) of DRDO.

Types of Submarines:

• Conventional or Diesel-electric submarine: They need atmospheric oxygen to run the diesel generator, which in turn charges the batteries.
• Nuclear Submarine: It is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. They have considerable performance advantages over conventional submarines.