Scientists fabricate 2D protein monolayer that can help to study diseases like Amyloidosis

Amyloidosis

• It is a rare disease that occurs when an abnormal protein, called amyloid, builds up in one’s organs, affecting their shape and functioning.
• Amyloid deposits can build up in the heart, brain, kidneys, spleen, and other parts of the body, leading to life-threatening conditions like organ failure.
• Some varieties of amyloidosis occur in association with other diseases.
• These types may improve with treatment of the underlying disease. Some varieties of amyloidosis may lead to life-threatening organ failure.
• The general signs or symptoms would include: Severe fatigue; Loss of weight; swelling in the belly, legs, ankles or feet; Numbness, pain, or tingling in hands or feet, and changes in skin colour.
• Different amyloidosis that are prevalent
  • Light-chain (AL) amyloidosis: People with conditions such as multiple myeloma or a bone marrow illness are more likely to have AL amyloidosis.
  • AA amyloidosis: Previously known as secondary amyloidosis, this condition is the result of another chronic infectious or inflammatory disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.

Lysozyme

• It is a protein present in mucosal secretions and a principal component of airway fluid.

Key points about the research

• They have assembled lysozyme molecules as a 2D monolayer at the interface of pure aqueous subphase.
• Researchers used the 2D protein monolayer to understand the behaviour of lysozyme molecules at air-water as well as at air-solid interface with the help of a technique called the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique.
• The physical properties of lysozyme molecules at the air-water interface were investigated under the variation of surface pressure and subphase pH conditions in the study.
• The compressible behaviour of lysozyme monolayers was correlated to the stripe-like domains formed with an increase in surface pressure.
• Lysozyme molecules at the air-water interface and their structural or conformational changes in variable pH conditions can be considered a model system to study Amyloidosis disease, which occurs because of the misfolding and agglomeration of lysozyme molecules.

NMC Implements ABHA ID Registration for Enhanced Clinical Data Accuracy

Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA)

• ABHA is a randomly generated 14-digit number used for the purposes of uniquely identifying persons, authenticating them, and threading their health records (only with their informed consent) across multiple systems and stakeholders.
• People can opt-in to create a digitally secure ABHA, which allows them to access and share their health data with participating healthcare providers and payers.
• It helps citizens maintain their health records at one place.
• It allows users, insurance companies, and hospitals to access health records digitally.
• It will enable easy digital access to lab reports, prescriptions, consultation details, and diagnoses from verified doctors by presenting the Health ID.
• In addition, it will digitally connect the hospitals across the country with each other.
• Having an ABHA health ID card is not mandatory. People can choose to register for the facility or erase their information from the ABHA database if they want to opt out of this facility.

PM Modi greets people on Guru Nanak Jayanti

Guru Nanak Jayanti

• It is celebrated on the 15th lunar day of the Hindu month of Kartik.
• It is one of the most important days of Sikhism and marks the birth anniversary of the first of the ten Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
• The day honours the teachings and wisdom of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and also promotes unity, equality, and selfless service, embodying the core principles of Sikh philosophy.

Guru Nanak:

• Guru Nanak (1469–1539), also referred to as Baba Nanak, was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
• He was born on April 15, 1469, in Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.
• Guru Nanak Dev spread the message of ‘Ek Omkar’ which means that God is one and is present everywhere.
• He propagated the idea that any person could connect with God by worshipping him with a clean conscience.
• Guru Nanak laid the foundation for the three pillars of Sikhism: Naam Japna (meditating on God''s name), Kirat Karni (honest and truthful living), and Vand Chakna (sharing with others, especially those in need).
• He was a poet, a mystic, a philosopher, and a singer who denounced ritualism as well as discrimination against women and those of lower socioeconomic status.
• Guru Nanak rejected the caste system and promoted the idea of equality among all people, regardless of their background, caste, or gender.
• He introduced the concept of "Sangat" (community), where all could come together to worship.
• All his teachings are composed together to form the sacred book called Guru Granth Sahib, the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism.

SC modifies order on eco-sensitive zone around national parks, sanctuaries

Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary

• Location: It is located in the Shimoga District of Karnataka.
• It spans an area of 395.6 square kilometres.
• It was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 23rd November 1974.
• Mandagadde Natural Bird Sanctuary, present on a small island in the river Tunga is also a part of this Sanctuary.
• The Tunga Anicut Dam is situated within the sanctuary and provides shelter for otters and water birds.
• Vegetation:
  • It is mainly covered by tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.
  • The eastern and central parts are mostly covered by dry and moist deciduous forests, while the western parts have semi-evergreen forests.
• Flora: Major tree species include silver oak, teak, Indian Thorny Bamboo, Calcutta bamboo, Asan, Tectona Grandis, Sweet Indrajao, Amla, etc.
• Fauna:
  • It houses mammals like Tiger, Leopard, Wild Dog, Jackal, Gaur, Elephant, Sloth Bear Sambar, Spotted Deer, Wild Pig, Common Langur, Bonnet Macaque, etc.
  • Birds include Hornbills, Kingfishers, Bulbuls, Parakeets, Doves, Pigeons, Babblers, Flycatchers, Munias, Swallows, Woodpeckers, Peafowl, Jungle fowl and Partridges.

More funds expected for three ''Fs'' through supplementary grants

Supplementary Grants

• Article 115of the Indian Constitution provides for supplementary, additional, or excess grants.
  • When grants, authorised by the Parliament, fall short of the required expenditure, an estimate is presented before the Parliament for Supplementary or Additional grants.
  • These grants are presented and passed by the Parliament before the end of the financial year.
• When actual expenditure incurred exceeds the approved grants of the Parliament, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Railways present a Demand for Excess Grant.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India bring such excesses to the notice of the Parliament.
• The Public Accounts Committee examines these excesses and gives recommendations to the Parliament.
• The Demand for Excess Grants is made after the actual expenditure is incurred and is presented to Parliament after the end of the financial year in which the expenses were made.

Irish author Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize for ''Prophet Song''

Booker Prize

• It is the world’s leading literary award for a single work of fiction.
• Founded in the UK in 1969, the Booker Prize initially rewarded Commonwealth writers and now spans the globe: it is open to anyone regardless of origin.
• It aims to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English.
• Eligibility:
  • The Booker Prize awards any novel originally written in English and published in the UK and Ireland in the year of the prize, regardless of the nationality of the author.
  • The novel must be an original work in English (not a translation).
  • It must be published by a registered UK or Irish imprint; self-published novels are not eligible.
• The winner receives £50,000, and each of the shortlisted authors will be given £2,500.
• The Booker Prize Foundation: It is a registered charity established in 2002. Since then, it has been responsible for the award of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and for the Man Booker International Prize since its inauguration in 2005.

Fast and furious: Inside Bengaluru’s maiden Kambala race

Kambala

• It is a folk sport practised in coastal Karnataka districts, especially in regions where Tulu speakers form a majority.
• Earlier, races would be organised by various families and groups in the slushy paddy fields in the days after the harvest.
• It is a prestige event for many families, especially from the Bunt community in the coastal regions.
• Pairs of buffaloes are groomed by them around the year in hopes of winning a major Kambala event or other races.
• Different categories of Kambala: Kambala is generally held under four categories.
  • Negilu (plough): where lighter ploughs are used to tie buffaloes for the race. The event is for entry-level buffalo pairs, participating in their first Kambala race.
  • Hagga (rope): Where buffaloes are raced by jockeys with just a rope tied to both buffaloes.
  • Adda Halage: In which participants stand over a horizontal plank which is dragged by buffaloes. Unlike Hagga and Negilu, where jockeys run behind the animals, buffaloes drag the jockeys in Adda Halage.
  • Kane Halage: In this, a wooden plank is tied to buffaloes. The plank, on which jockeys stand, has two holes through which water gushes out as the plank is dragged along the slush tracks. The height to which water splashes determines the winner of the event.

Critically Endangered Plant Species Discovered in Manipur

Saurauia Punduana

• It is a plant species that belongs to the Actinidiaceae family.
• The flowers of Saurauia Punduana turn white to pink on maturity. Petals are pink, ovate to obovate, curled at the tip.
• Its fruits are spherical, shining white, and are used in veterinary medicine.
• Habitat: In subtropical forests, altitude 600-1800 m.
• Its flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium),
• It is a critically endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
• Global Distribution: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Myanmar.
• In India, it is found in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
• Threats: Saurauia species are susceptible to various insect pests, virus and fungi, affecting leaves, fruits and roots.

Supreme Court e-SCR portal launched in Hindi; online portal to ensure prompt release of prisoners also launched

e-SCR portal

• It was an initiative by the Supreme Court (SC) of India to provide the digital version of the apex court''s judgements in the same manner they are reported in the official law report.
• It provides free access to about 34,000 judgements of the SC to lawyers, law students, and the common public.
• These verdicts will be available on the apex court website, its mobile app, and on the judgement portal of the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG).
• It is a free service available for lawyers across the country.
• The Supreme Court has developed a search engine with the help of the National Informatics Centre comprising elastic search techniques in the database of e-SCR.
• The search facility in e-SCR provides for free text search, search within search, case type and case year search, judge search, year and volume search, and bench strength search options.

National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) portal:

• The NJDG portal is a national repository of data relating to cases instituted, pending, and disposed of by the courts across the length and breadth of the country.
• In this portal, one may access case-related information and statistics such as institution, pendency, disposal of cases, case types, and the year-wise break-up of the Supreme Court of India.
• It is a database of orders, judgements, and case details of 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project.
• It has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in close coordination with the in-house software development team of the Computer Cell, Registry with an interactive interface and analytics dashboard.
• The entire database will be periodically updatedon the NJDG portal.
• NJDG works as a monitoring tool to identify, manage, & reduce the pendency of cases.
• It helps to provide timely inputs for making policy decisions to reduce delays in disposing of cases and reduce case pendency.

Vir Das wins International Emmy Award for Best Comedy

Emmy Awards

• The Emmy Awards are the most renowned accolades given to television and emerging media performances. Unlike Oscars and Golden Globe Awards, they aren’t given for films.
• These were conceived in 1948, and the first ceremony took place on January 25, 1949.
• A total of six awards were presented, such as the Most Outstanding Television Personality and Most Popular Television Program.
• Apart from the International Emmy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Emmys are also given in the following categories: daytime, sports, news and documentary, technology and engineering, and regional.
• While Primetime Emmy Awards honour television shows produced only in America and aired during primetime, International Emmy Awards are for international shows.
• Daytime Emmy Awards are given to American shows aired during late-morning and afternoon. Regional Emmy Awards are for regional television markets, including state-to-state programming, local news, and locally produced shows.
• These awards are given by three sister organizations:
  • First is the Television Academy, which administers the Primetime Emmy Awards.
  • Second is the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which oversees daytime, sports, news and documentary categories.
  • Third is the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which is responsible for International Emmys.
  • Each organisation maintains its own membership of television professionals who vote and decide who will get the award.