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Prelim Bits 18-03-2019

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March 18, 2019

Global Environment Outlook

  • The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) report is often referred as UN Environment’s flagship environmental assessment. 
  • The first publication was in 1997 and was originally requested by Member States.
  • The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is a consultative and participatory process to prepare an independent assessment of the state of the environment, the effectiveness of the policy response to address these environmental challenges and the possible pathways to be achieve various internationally agreed environmental goals. 
  • The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) informs environmental decision-making for governments and various stakeholders.

West Nile Virus (WNV)

  • West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex, which can cause neurological disease and death in people.
  • WNV is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.
  • WNV is maintained in nature in a cycle involving transmission between birds and mosquitoes, Humans, horses and other mammals can be infected.
  • Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
  • Human infection is most often the result of bites from infected mosquitoes.
  • Horses, just like humans, are “dead-end” hosts, meaning that while they become infected, they do not spread the infection.
  • Infection with WNV is either asymptomatic (no symptoms) in around 80% of infected people, or can lead to West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.
  • People who become infected with WNV will develop West Nile fever.
  • Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, occasionally with a skin rash (on the trunk of the body) and swollen lymph glands.
  • For West Nile Virus no vaccine is available for humans.

Neolithic Humans

  • The Neolithic era from 6,000 B.C. to 2,100 B.C. was when wheat and barley-based farming took root and animals such as goats, sheep and cows were domesticated.
  • Man, before the Neolithic era, used his teeth quickly to chew the products of his hunting and gathering.
  • Starting in the Neolithic era, hunter-gatherers learned techniques to process food which lead to a softer diet and lesser action of jaws.
  • Recent study on neo-lithic humans indicates that language is not merely a random product of history but was also linked to biological changes at the time.

Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

  • Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, It is located in Varanasi.
  • The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
  • Recently Kashi Vishwanath corridor project has been inaugurated by union government which envisions a massive makeover of the holy shrine and its surrounding areas.
  • The proposed 50-feet corridor will directly connect Ganga’s Manikarnika and LalitaGhat to the Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga Temple.
  • This massive makeover is the first after the 1780 AD when the Maratha queen AhilyabaiHolkar of Indore renovated the temple and the area surrounding it.

 

AFINDEX

  • AFINDEX It is a Joint Field Training Exercise between the Indian Army and 16 African nations.
  • AFINDEX aims to train the participating contingents in Humanitarian Mine Assistance (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) under the United Nations Charter through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercises.
  • The joint exercise focus on achieving interoperability, learning each other’s methodologies and tactics through synchronized operational level planning and tactical level training.

 

Source: PIB, the Hindu, Times of India

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