Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Himalayas warmest on record: researchers

News

• Recent decades have been the wettest and warmest on record in the Himalayas, say researchers who are alarmed that a “warming signature” has led to an overall rise in mercury levels and the retreat of glaciers.

Beyond News

• They warn that the impact of global warming is clearly evident over the northwestern Himalayas in the form of rising temperatures in the last 25 years.
• An overall warming signature was observed with the maximum, minimum and mean temperatures rising.
• The maximum, minimum and mean temperatures in the Himalayas saw a total increase of 0.9 degree, 0.19 degree and 0.65 degree, respectively, over a quarter of a century.
• However, the warming was not consistent across the Himalayas. The highest rise in mean temperature was seen in the Greater Himalayas at 0.87 degree Celsius (1991-2015), followed by the Karakoram Himalayas.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Govt. to file review plea in SC against ruling on SC/ST Act

News

• Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government is “preparing” to file a review petition against the top court’s ruling on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that puts a stop to immediate arrests in complaints filed under its provisions.

Beyond News

• Officials in the Law Ministry said the government will approach the Supreme Court as early as next week after preparing a “water tight case” in consultation with the Ministry of Social Justice, the nodal Ministry to enforce the Act.
• The government has been under pressure from the Opposition as well from its allies and Ministers from the Dalit community to seek a review or bring an amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s ruling.
• In a recent order, the Supreme Court had banned automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Act.
• The court had laid down stringent guidelines such as written permission from the appointing authority before a public servant could be arrested.
• The Prime Minister is understood to have assured the delegation that the government would initiate ‘remedial measures’ to ensure that the Act retains its effectiveness in ensuring justice to Dalits and tribal people.

Seychelles says “NO” to India’s proposal for naval base

News

• India’s plans to get a foothold in the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles received a setback after its President Danny Faure told Parliament earlier this week that he will not take up the Assomption island project deal with India for ratification.

Seychelles

• The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa. It’s home to numerous beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves, as well as rare animals such as giant Aldabra tortoises.

Beyond News

• This announcement came after Wavell John Charles Ramkalawan, the leader of the Opposition of Seychelles, said that he would oppose the deal.
• Significantly, the leader of the Opposition was hosted here in January as India tried to get him on board for the key project, which was rejected by the Indian Ocean country earlier this week.
• Ramkalawan declared on Tuesday that the Assomption island project, which was expected to host a naval facility, would not take off.
• Ramkalawan visited India in the second week of January and participated in the PIO Parliamentary Conference which was addressed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The aim of the conference was to firm up ties with individuals of Indian origin who are spread across the world and are playing important role in their host societies.
• He also met President Ram Nath Kovind on January 9, when Mr. Kovind said that his visit would help strengthen India-Seychelles ties. Mr. Ramkalawan, who is an ethnic Indian, was earlier in the race to occupy the post of the President of the country.

The agreement covers within its purview our shared efforts in anti-piracy operations, and enhanced EEZ surveillance to prevent intrusions by potential economic offenders including those indulging in illegal fishing, poaching, drug and human trafficking.

US wants visa applicants to submit phone, email, social media details

News

• The Trump administration wants all US visa applicants to submit details of their previous phone numbers, email addresses and social media histories as part of its “vetting” practice and to prevent entry of individuals who might pose a threat to the country.

Beyond News

• In a document posted on the Federal Register, anyone who wants to come to the US on a non-immigrant visa will have to answer a list of questions under new rules.
• The State Department estimates that the new visa forms would affect 710,000 immigrant and 14 million non-immigrant visa applicants.
• It said that in addition to asking the visa applicants to provide their identifications or handles of their social media platform, they would also be asked to give details of their phone and mobile numbers used in the last five years.
• Other questions seek five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses and international travel whether the visa applicant has been deported or removed from any country and whether specified family members have been involved in terrorist activities.
• After its publication, the public would have 60 days to comment on the proposed new visa form.
• One question lists multiple social media platforms and requires the applicant to provide any identifiers used by applicants for those platforms during the five years preceding the date of application.
• It said the State Department will collect the information from visa applicants for “identity resolution and vetting purposes” based on statutory visa eligibility standards.
• However, it intends not to routinely ask the question of applicants for specific visa classifications, such as most diplomatic and official visa applicants.
• The revised visa application forms will also include additional information regarding the visa medical examination that some applicants may be required to undergo.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Scientists report previously-unrecognised anatomical structure in the human body

News

Researchers from New York University School of Medicine have reported a previously unrecognised structure in the human body which may have implications in the mechanisms of major diseases.

Beyond News

• The reveals that layers below the skin’s surface, which were long thought to be dense, connective tissues are instead interconnected, fluid-filled compartments.
• This series of spaces, supported by a meshwork of strong (collagen) and flexible (elastin) connective tissue proteins, may act like shock absorbers that keep tissues from tearing as organs, muscles, and vessels squeeze, pump, and pulse as part of daily function.
• The scientists used Confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE), which provides real-time images of human tissues, to find these compartments.
• By freezing the biopsy tissue, the researchers preserved the structure and demonstrated that this new part was supported by a complex network of thick collagen bundles.
• The researchers observed these structures in many tissues of the body like gastrointestinal tract, urinary bladder, skin and the lungs.

How is this new discovery helpful?

• The report says that “these anatomic structures may be important in cancer metastasis, edema, fibrosis, and mechanical functioning of many or all tissues and organs.”
• This fixation artifact of collapse has made a fluid-filled tissue type throughout the body appear solid in biopsy slides for decades, and our results correct for this to expand the anatomy of most tissues.

This finding has potential to drive dramatic advances in medicine, including the possibility that the direct sampling of interstitial fluid may become a powerful diagnostic tool.

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