Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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34% Indians not active enough: WHO

News:

• Thirty-four per cent of Indians 24.7% male and 43.9% females are not active enough to stay healthy, according to the latest study released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which noted that, globally, more than 1.4 billion adults are at risk of diseases from not doing enough physical activity.

Findings:

• The study notes that there is no improvement in global levels of physical activity since 2001. The data shows that if current trends continue, the 2025 global activity target of a 10% relative reduction in insufficient physical activity will not be met.
• Insufficient activity puts people at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers, according to the first study to estimate global physical activity trends over time.
• Worldwide, around 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men do not do enough physical activity to stay healthy.
• The highest rates of insufficient activity in 2016 were found in adults in Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where more than half of all adults were insufficiently active. Comparatively, around 40% of adults in the United States, 36% in the UK and 14% in China were insufficiently active.
• Unlike other major global health risks, levels of insufficient physical activity are not falling worldwide, on average, and over a quarter of all adults are not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity for good health,” warns the study.
• In 2016, around one in three women (32%) and one in four men (23%) worldwide were not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity to stay healthy that is, at least 150 minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of physical activity of vigorous intensity per week.
• The new study is based on self-reported activity levels, including activity at work and at home, for transport, and during leisure time, in adults aged 18 years and older, from 358 population-based surveys in 168 countries, and includes 1.9 million participants.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Aadhaar mandatory for organ transplants

News

• Aadhaar is now mandatory for Indian patients to register in the Tamil Nadu Network for Organ Sharing.

Beyond News

• As part of measures to streamline the deceased donor transplant programme, the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) has recently made Aadhaar cards compulsory for Indians to register in the organ waitlist registry, while foreigners have to submit a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the respective Embassies.
• Earlier, any identity card, including voter’s ID, was acceptable for Indian patients. From last month, we have made Aadhaar card mandatory for registrations. Similarly, for international patients, an NoC from their Embassy is essential for registration. This is to confirm that they have come to the State for organ transplantation.
• If a patient was in need of two organs such as liver and kidney, two separate IDs were issued earlier. Now, the authority has brought in a single unique ID for a patient, irrespective of the number of organs he or she registers for.
• Except activation and inactivation of patients, hospitals cannot modify patient details. TRANSTAN has brought in a change in the activation of patients.
• A patient becomes active only after 24 hours of activation by the hospital.
• Similarly, if a recipient gets transferred from one hospital to another, he/she becomes active only after 48 hours. This was to prevent patients from choosing hospitals as and when a deceased donor is identified.
• A utilisation report that states details of donors and patients with the signature of the consultant and seal of hospital is now being insisted by TRANSTAN.
• Post-transplant, TRANSTAN staff contact the recipient to know his/her status. Following this, the transplant coordinators will follow up the patients after a gap of one month, three months, six months and a year.

West Coast begins tsunami mock drill

News

• At the stroke, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 in Makran Trench south of Iran was simulated triggering evacuation of about 90,000 people living in certain vulnerable coastal villages of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra as part of a major Indian Ocean wide tsunami mock drill – IOWave18.

Beyond News

• India along with 23 other countries are participating in the two-day exercise which is fifth in the series in the last nine years and is being organised by the Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, which has coordinated the setting up of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) after the December 26, 2004 tsunami.
• The exercise is being conducted in real time lasting for around 12 hours and the ITEWC will issue 15 tsunami bulletins in all through satellite, email, fax, SMS and on website to coastal States on the west coast and countries of the Indian Ocean too.
• Four villages of two districts in Gujarat in Kutch and Jamnagar, four villages in four districts of Maharashtra and North Goa and Agatti in Lakshadweep Islands had participated.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Army selects mini-UAV for high-altitude surveillance

News

• The Army has selected SpyLite mini-UAV for high-altitude aerial surveillance.

Beyond News

• The mini-UAV is built by Cyient Solutions & Systems (CSS), a joint venture between Cyient Ltd of India and BlueBird Aero Systems of Israel.
• The CSS offered, and successfully demonstrated, its flagship mini-UAV system, SpyLite, which was the only one that met end-user requirements to conduct real-time surveillance and target acquisition at very high altitudes and in extreme weather conditions. The SpyLite was also the only UAV system to complete and pass the trial.
• The statement said SpyLite demonstrated quick operational readiness supported by launch and recovery in high altitudes and harsh terrains. Using high-end payloads, the system delivered high-quality day and night videos.
• Its low visual and acoustic signature underlined its suitability for covert operations.
• According to the company website, SpyLite has an endurance of 4-5 hours and a maximum flight ceiling of 30,000 feet making it ideal for operations along the border with China as well as on the Siachen glacier.

Japan to test mini ‘space elevator’

News

• A Japanese team has developed a “space elevator” and will conduct a first trial this month, blasting off a miniature version on satellites to test the technology.

Beyond News

• The test equipment, produced by researchers at Shizuoka University, will hitch a ride on an H-2B rocket being launched by Japan’s space agency from southern island of Tanegashima next week.
• The test involves a miniature elevator stand-in a box just 6 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 3 cm high.
• If all goes well, it will provide proof of concept by moving along a 10-metre cable suspended in space between two mini satellites that will keep it taut.
• The mini-elevator will travel along the cable from a container in one of the satellites. It’s going to be the world’s first experiment to test elevator movement in space, a university spokesman said .
• The movement of the motorised “elevator” box will be monitored with cameras in the satellites.
• It is still a far cry from the ultimate beam-me-up goals of the project, which builds on a long history of “space elevator” dreams.
• But technical barriers have always kept plans stuck at the conceptual stage.
• Japanese construction firm Obayashi, which is collaborating with the Shizuoka university project, is also exploring other ways to build its own space elevator to put tourists in space in 2050.
• The company has said it could use carbon nanotube technology, which is more than 20 times stronger than steel, to build a lift shaft about 96,000 km above the earth

Scientists to assess biodiversity loss

News

• The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSSB) is setting up a multidisciplinary team of 100 scientists from various research institutes to assist panchayat-level Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) to carry out a rapid assessment of the biodiversity loss caused by the recent floods in Kerala.

Beyond News

• A consultative meeting convened by the KSBB here constituted a core committee to lead the mammoth study, the first of its kind in the State. The format for the assessment has been approved and the core committee comprising 12 scientists has been tasked with preparing a manual of procedure to be given to the BMCs.
• KSBB chairman said the data collection exercise was expected to be completed by mid-October. The information will then be subjected to a detailed analysis to come up with a response plan for restoration of ecological restoration.
• The rapid assessment will cover the damage caused to agricultural biodiversity and rare, endangered and threatened species in diverse ecosystems. It will also study the possible spread of alien invasive species in the wake of the floods and their impact on endemic species. The impact of the floods on the riverine and aquatic ecosystems is another thrust area.
• The KSBB has drawn up a three- pronged strategy to address the impact of the floods on the ecology and biodiversity of the State. The rapid assessment is to be followed by a chain study to understand how the disaster has affected various ecosystems. The third part of the strategy will focus on developing a long term action plan for ecological restoration.

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