DAY – 53 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 53)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: c)

The term third generation biofuel has only recently enter the mainstream it refers to biofuel derived from algae. Previously, algae were lumped in with second generation biofuels. However, when it became apparent that algae are capable of much higher yields with lower resource inputs than other feedstock, many suggested that they be moved to their own category.

Algae produce an oil that can easily be refined into diesel or even certain components of gasoline. More importantly, however, is a second property in it can be genetically manipulated to produce everything from ethanol and butanol to even gasoline and diesel fuel directly.

Butanol is of great interest because the alcohol is exceptionally similar to gasoline. In fact, it has a nearly identical energy density to gasoline and an improved emissions profile. Until the advent of genetically modified algae, scientists had a great deal of difficulty producing butanol.

Now, several commercial-scale facilities have been developed and are on the brink of making butanol and more popular biofuel than ethanol because it is not only similar in many ways to gasoline, but also does not cause engine damage or even require engine modification the way ethanol does.

Solution: d)

Statement 1: Some of the harm chemical fertilizers may cause include waterway pollution, chemical burn to crops, increased air pollution, acidification of the soil and mineral depletion of the soil.

Chemical fertilizers are high in nutrient content such as nitrogen. Over-application of chemical fertilizer to plants may cause the leaves to turn yellow or brown, damaging the plant and reducing crop yield. This condition is known as chemical leaf scorch. Leaf scorch can cause the leaves of the plant to wither and may cause the plant to die.

When soil is too acidic, bases like quick lime (calcium oxide) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). If the soil is basic, organic matter is added to it. Organic matter releases acids which neutralises the basic nature of the soil.

Solution: d)

Justification: An account of these exercises is picked up from IYB:

“Second edition of ‘Al Nagah’ the joint exercise between the Indian and Oman Armies was held at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. Both armies shared valuable combat expertise on countering terrorist operations in an international environment.

‘Surya Kiran-XI’ was held wherein, infantry battalion of Indian Army and Durga Bahsh Battalion of Nepalese Army participated. Eleventh such battalion level exercise between the two countries aimed at training of troops in counter insurgency operations in mountainous terrain.

Twelfth edition of Indo-Mongolian Joint Military Exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant’ was held at Vairengte. The exercise was aimed at training the troops in counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations under the United Nations mandate.

As part of the Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training, exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas-2017’ was conducted in USA. The theme of the exercise was to build and develop military relations and interoperability for conducting counter terrorism, regional security operations and peace keeping operations under UN Charter.

The fifth Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Training Exercise ‘Mitra Shakti 2017’ was conducted in Pune. The exercise focused on counter terrorism operations in semi urban terrain.

First ever tri service exercise ‘Indra’ between India and Russia was conducted in Russia sometime back.

Indo-Bangladesh exercise ‘Sampriti’ was conducted in Vairengte. It was aimed at carrying out operations against terrorists and insurgents on the lines of those in the J&K and NE.

Indo-UK Exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’ was conducted in Rajasthan. The aim of the exercise was to build and promote bilateral relations and enhance interoperability while sharing experiences in counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations between the two countries.

Solution: d)

Lakshya is a high speed target drone system developed by DRDO.

The drone remotely piloted by a ground control station provides realistic towed aerial sub-targets for live fire training.

The Nishant UAV is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering over enemy territory and also for reconnaissance, training, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction, damage assessment, ELINT and SIGINT.

Solution: b)

Learning: It is a 6,000-tonne nuclear powered submarine and is more than 100 metre long.

It is powered by a pressurised light water reactor built with Russia’s help. This reactor generates tremendous heat, driving a steam turbine

Presently, Indian Navy operates the INS Chakra, a nuclear-powered submarine which is leased for 10 years from Russia in 2012.

Solution: d)

Justification: Applications are covered briefly in the image below (can be a useful snapshot for your Mains notes as well).

Solution: C

Both the statements are correct

5G is widely believed to be smarter, faster and more efficient than 4G. It promises mobile data speeds that far outstrip the fastest home broadband network currently available to consumers. With speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second, 5G is set to be as much as 100 times faster than 4G.

Low latency is a key differentiator between 4G and 5G. Latency is the time that passes from the moment information is sent from a device until it can be used by the receiver. Reduced latency means that you’d be able to use your mobile device connection as a replacement for your cable modem and Wi-Fi. Additionally, you’d be able to download.

Solution: d)

Learning: LIGO-India project is piloted by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST). It will give impetus to scientific research in the country.

It will establish a state-of-the-art Gravitational Wave Observatory in India in collaboration with the US based LIGO Laboratory run by Caltech and MIT.

It will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology in India’s scientific industry as domestic players will engaged in the construction of 8 kilometre long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum of observatory on a levelled terrain.

Solution: A
Much like the picture in an LCD screen, the picture made by a plasma TV is made from an array (grid) of red, green and blue pixels (microscopic dots or squares).
Each pixel can be switched on or off individually by a grid of horizontally and vertically mounted electrodes (shown as yellow lines). Suppose we want to activate one of the red pixels (shown hugely magnified in the light gray pullout circle on the right).
The two electrodes leading to the pixel cell put a high voltage across it, causing it to ionize and emit ultraviolet light (shown here as a turquoise cross, though it would be invisible in the TV itself).
The ultraviolet light shines through the red phosphor coating on the inside of the pixel cell. The phosphor coating converts the invisible ultraviolet into visible red light, making the pixel light up as a single red square.

Solution: B

Dragonfly aims to search for signs of microbial alien life on Saturn’s moon Titan, while navigating its earth-like gravity and aerodynamics in the process. The mission will succeed NASA’s Cassini probe, which ended its

13-year mission orbiting Saturn in September 2017 by diving into Saturn’s atmosphere.

Dragonfly mission is a part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, which includes a series of space exploration missions, which are being conducted with the purpose of researching several of the Solar System bodies, including the dwarf planet Pluto.

Solution: D

Statement 1:  Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA. It was launched in 2014 and rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018. It is in the process of surveying the asteroid for a year and a half, departing in December 2019, and returning to Earth in December 2020.

It recently dropped an explosive on an asteroid to make a crater. It’s aim was to make a crater on asteroid. Also, this spacecraft will collect its underground samples to find possible clues to the origin of the solar system.

Statement 2:  Notably, Hayabusa2 is the second Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid, after Hayabusa achieved a similar feat back in 2005.

Hayabusa-1, its predecessor, landed on the asteroid Itokawa in mid-September 2005, and managed to collect samples in the form of grains of asteroidal material. It returned to Earth with the samples in June 2010, thereby becoming the first spacecraft to return asteroid samples to Earth for analysis.

Solution: C

The African elephant is the largest animal walking the Earth. Their herds wander through 37 countries in Africa. They are easily recognized by their trunk that is used for communication and handling objects. And their large ears allow them to radiate excess heat. Upper incisor teeth develop into tusks in African elephants and grow throughout their lifetime. Hence Statement 1 and 2 is correct.

There are two subspecies of African elephants—the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant. Savanna elephants are larger than forest elephants, and their tusks curve outwards. In addition to being smaller, forest elephants are darker and their tusks are straighter and point downward. There are also differences in the size and shape of the skull and skeleton between the two subspecies. Hence Statement 3 is incorrect.

Forest elephants, a distinct subspecies of African elephants, are uniquely adapted to the forest habitat of the Congo Basin, but are in sharp decline due to poaching for the international ivory trade. It is estimated that probably one quarter to one third of the total African elephant population is made up of forest elephants.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant

Solution:  D

The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is an Indian river flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu district of the state of Karnataka, at an elevation of 1,341 m above mean sea level and flows for about 800 km before its outfall into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river – after Godavari and Krishna – in South India and the largest in the State of Tamil Nadu, which, on its course, bisects the state into North and South.

The Kaveri is sacred river to the people of South India and is worshipped as the Goddess Kaveriamma. The Kaveri is also one of the seven holy rivers of India

https://www.britannica.com/place/Kaveri-River

Solution: B

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is a process by which coal is converted to useful gases in situ without the need for mining. The gases can subsequently be used to produce heat, generate power or synthesize a variety of chemical products. UCG is realized through circulating gasification agents (air or oxygen and water) into a coal seam. The product gases are transported to the surface for processing and utilization. This conceptually simple technology eliminates mining, coal transport, post-mining reclamation, and management of combustion residues with minimum start-up capital requirements, operating costs and construction time.

Practical application of UCG is restricted partly by lack of satisfactory quantitative descriptions of the processes involved. During gasification a cavity is formed in the coal seam and high heat energy is released. Both the formation of the reactor cavity and the high temperature resulting from the coal burning affect the overburden deformation. If the cavity is too large, it may result in collapse of the overburden, either piecewise or catastrophically. The host rock deformation modifies the permeability field in the UCG zone, and the change in permeability affects the migration of the potential contaminants resulting from UCG.

It is not widely practiced in India.

Solution: C

Commercial Paper (CP) is an unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note.

It was introduced in India in 1990 with a view to enabling highly rated corporate borrowers to diversify their sources of short-term borrowings and to provide an additional instrument to investors. Subsequently, primary dealers and all-India financial institutions were also permitted to issue CP to enable them to meet their short-term funding requirements for their operations. Corporates, primary dealers (PDs) and the All-India Financial Institutions (FIs) are eligible to issue CP.

CP can be issued for maturities between a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of up to one year from the date of issue. However, the maturity date of the CP should not go beyond the date up to which the credit rating of the issuer is valid. Only a scheduled bank can act as an Issuing and Paying Agent (IPA) for issuance of CP.

Individuals, banking companies, other corporate bodies (registered or incorporated in India) and unincorporated bodies, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) etc. can invest in CPs. However, investment by FIIs would be within the limits set for them by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from time-to-time.

Solution: C

High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) initiative:

1. Initiated by WHO in 11 high malaria burden countries, including India.

1. In India, Implementation has been started in four states i.e. West Bengal and Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

About Malaria:

Caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans.

Spread: Female Anopheles mosquitoes deposit parasite sporozoites into the skin of a human host.

 Four kinds of malaria parasites infect humans:

Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae. In addition, P. knowlesi, a type of malaria that naturally infects macaques in Southeast Asia, also infects humans, causing malaria that is transmitted from animal to human (“zoonotic” malaria).

Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) initiative:

1. Among states, Odisha’s Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN)initiativeis significant.

1. The initiative aims to deliver services to the most inaccessible and hardest hit people of the State. The initiative has in-built innovative strategies to combat asymptomatic malaria.
2. The programme is jointly implemented by Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research (ICMR-NIMR), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Odisha and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

Solution: D

The Strait of Malacca or Straits of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 580 mi in length, between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. As the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Hence Statement 1 is incorrect.

The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden
The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.

Solution: B

The Tibet Policy and Support Act, passed by the US Senate earlier this week, bookends a turbulent year in US-China relations. The House of Representatives had passed the legislation in January. It will become law after the US President signs off on it.

The earlier version

The TSPA is an amended version of the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which came into existence during the Bush Administration. But in an indication of just how important he considered relations with China, President George W Bush distanced himself from this Congressional action, and wrote strong words against it in his signing statement, in which asserted the administration’s right not to implement parts of the act. He wrote: “Regrettably, the Act [H.R. 1646] contains a number of provisions that impermissibly interfere with the constitutional functions of the presidency in foreign affairs, including provisions that purport to establish foreign policy that are of significant concern.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/reading-the-new-us-policy-on-tibet-snubs-to-china-on-dalai-lama-rivers-7120417/

Solution: C

Both the statements are correct.

What is mucormycosis?

The disease is caused by a group of moulds, called mucormycetes, that live throughout the environment including in soil and on plants. Mucormycosis is seen throughout the world, including in the US and Australia. It can be acquired in hospitals – most commonly by vulnerable transplant patients – when the moulds get on hospital linens, travel through ventilation systems, or are transmitted on adhesives.

“They’re a family of fungus that gets into your sinuses and deposit there, and they can get into the air spaces in your head,” Collignon said. “And when your immune system can’t keep them under control they invade the base of your brain where it becomes a real problem, and really very serious.

“You can also get the fungal infections in places where there’s a lot of earth-moving building work going on, because it stirs up a lot of dust in the area.”

The fungal spores are usually inhaled, and while most people’s immune systems can fend them off, people with conditions such as diabetes or leukaemia that weaken the immune system, or those who take medications that lower the body’s ability to fight germs, such as steroids, are prone to the spores developing into an infection.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/may/11/what-is-the-dangerous-black-fungus-being-seen-in-covid-patients-in-india-mucormycosis

Solution: B

Three Phases of Indian nuclear power programme

• Homi Bhabha envisioned India’s nuclear power programme in three stages to suit country’s low uranium resource profile.

Phase I – Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor:

• In the first stage of the programme natural uranium fuelled Pressurized Heavy water reactors produces electricity while generating plutonium-239 as by-product.

Phase II – Fast Breeder Reactor:

• In the second stage, fast breeder reactors (FBRs) [moderators not required] would use plutonium239, recovered by reprocessing spent fuel from the first stage, and natural uranium.
• In FBRs, plutonium-239 undergoes fission to produce energy, while the uranium-238 present in the fuel transmutes to additional plutonium-239.

Phase III – Thorium based Reactors:

• A Stage III reactor or an advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of thorium-232-uranium-233 fuelled reactors.
• This would be a thermal breeder reactor, which in principle can be refueled – after its initial fuel charge – using only naturally occurring thorium.
• As there is a long delay before direct thorium utilization in the three-stage programme, the country is now looking at reactor designs that allow more direct use of thorium in parallel with the sequential three-stage programme
• Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is such an option under consideration.

Solution: D

Nanomicelles are typically spherical, but can sometimes take other shapes, such as cylinders and ellipsoids. The small  size and shape of nanomicelles is only possible due to the molecular geometry of the particle. The shapes formed also depend on the ionic strength, surfactant concentration, and pH strength of the solutions they are placed in.

Uses of nanomicelles

Micelles are used primarily as solutions for membrane proteins. Research shows that nanomicelles are more effective in studying the capabilities of such proteins, than bilayer vesicles because of their relatively smaller size.

Apart from this, empirical evidences also show that nanomicelles could be used as therapeutic interventions involving protein and peptide delivery. For instance, in the optometric industry, the need for stable solutions in ocular medicine targeting anterior- and posterior-segment diseases is on the rise.

Solution: D

Both the statements are correct.

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule (11 April 1827 – 28 November 1890) was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra.

His work extended to many fields, including eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women and exploited caste people.

He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women’s education in India. Phule started his first school for girls in 1848 in Pune at Tatyasaheb Bhide’s residence or Bhidewada.

He, along with his followers, formed the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) to attain equal rights for people from exploited castes. People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes

He was bestowed with the title of Mahatma by Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar in 1888. He and his wife Savitrirao Phule opened the first-ever school for Dalit girls at Pune, in 1848.

In 1863, Jyotirao and Savitribai started the first-ever infanticide prohibition home in India called BalhatyaPratibandhakGriha.

Solution: A

Tharu is a scheduled tribe in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Tharus live in both India and Nepal (Terai region). In the Indian terai, they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

Most of them are forest dwellers, and some practice agriculture. Tharus worship Lord Shiva. Tharu women have stronger property rights than is allowed to women in mainstream North Indian Hindu custom.

Solution: A

Gene vaccines are a new approach to immunization and immunotherapy in which, rather than a live or inactivated organism (or a subunit thereof), one or more genes that encode proteins of the pathogen are delivered. The goal of this approach is to generate immunity against diseases for which traditional vaccines and treatments have not worked, to improve vaccines, and to treat chronic diseases.

Gene vaccines make use of advances in immunology and molecular biology to more specifically tailor immune responses (cellular or humoral, or both) against selected antigens. They are still under development in research and clinical trials. The mechanisms for inducing cellular (as opposed to humoral) responses against a particular antigen have been elucidated.

Gene vaccines provide a means to generate specific cellular responses while still generating antibodies, if desired. In addition, by delivering only the genes that encode the particular proteins against which a protective or therapeutic immune response is desired, the potential limitations and risks of certain other approaches can be avoided.

Advantages

• No risk for infection
• Antigen presentation by both MHC class I and class II molecules
• Polarise T-cell response toward type 1 or type 2
• Immune response focused on the antigen of interest
• Ease of development and production
• Stability for storage and shipping
• Cost-effectiveness
• Obviates need for peptide synthesis, expression and purification of recombinant proteins and use of toxic adjuvants
• Long-term persistence of immunogen
• In vivo expression ensures protein more closely resembles normal eukaryotic structure, with accompanying post-translational modifications

Solution: D

Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system — generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.

A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring lidar data over broad areas. Two types of lidar are topographic and bathymetric. Topographic lidar typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations.

Lidar is commonly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in surveying, geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. The technology is also used in control and navigation for some autonomous cars.

Solution: A

He has given Rs. 9,100 to his daughter and has kept an equal amount for himself.

Thus, before giving money to his daughter the amount with him = 9100 X 2= Rs.18,200

Now, this is the amount left with him after giving 35% to his second son.

i.e., Rs.18,200 is 65% of the amount of money Ajay had before giving second son his share or after giving the first son his share.

Thus, amount of money left after giving first son his share = (100/65) X 18200 = Rs.28,000

This is the amount left after giving 30% of the total savings to the first son. Thus, it is 70% of his total savings.

So, total savings = (100/70) X 28000 = Rs. 40,000.

Solution: D

Number of plants in each row = HCF of 15, 20 and 25 = HCF of 3×5, 4×5 and 5×5 = 5

Total number of plants = 15 + 20 + 25 = 60

So, Minimum number of rows = 60/5 = 12

Solution: B

The typewriter can type 500 letters in 60 seconds.

Speed of typing = 500/60 = 25/3 letters per sec

He takes 30 seconds to change the page.

Total time in typing one page plus changing the page = 300 / (25/3) + 30 = 36 + 30 = 66 sec

In 11 min, i.e., 660 seconds, the number of pages he can type = 660/66 = 10 pages.

Solution: A

There are 3 married couples in the family. It means there will be 3 men and 3 women. It’s clear that B, C and D are women, hence A, E and F must be men.

As each team won different number of matches, the number of matches won by different teams must be 2, 1 and 0.

A and D have lost all their matches and hence must be a couple. As B is the mother-in-law of C and won against her and E has defeated his son too.

Hence, E and B must be a pair, the other being F and C. F is the son of E and B. Moreover, it’s clear that E-B won all their matches.

Solution: A

There are 3 married couples in the family. It means there will be 3 men and 3 women. It’s clear that B, C and D are women, hence A, E and F must be men.

As each team won different number of matches, the number of matches won by different teams must be 2, 1 and 0.

A and D have lost all their matches and hence must be a couple. As B is the mother-in-law of C and won against her and E has defeated his son too.

Hence, E and B must be a pair, the other being F and C. F is the son of E and B. Moreover, it’s clear that E-B won all their matches.