Current affairs quiz with answers

1.    Which country recently launched world's biggest radio telescope in search for extraterrestrial life? a)    India b)    China c)    The Netherlands d)    The United Kingdom 2.    Name the Indian player who recently won India's first medal at Asian Beach Games. a)    Pincky Balhara b)    Shivam Bhowmick c)    Rajat Malhotra d)    None of the above 3.    Name the first Russian-Pakistani joint military exercise, which recently commenced in Pakistan. a)    Babar-2016 b)    Cherat-2016 c)    Moskow Friendship-2016 d)    Druzhba-2016 4.    Arnold Palmer, nicknamed as ‘The King’ recently passed away. He was related to which of the following fields? a)    Cricket b)    Tennis c)    Golf d)    Basketball 5.    Who won the 2016 St Petersburg Open Men’s Singles title? a)    Stan Wawrinka b)    Alexander Zverev c)    Roger Federer d)    Andy Murray 6.    Who won the 2016 St Petersburg Open Men’s Doubles title? a)    Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen b)    Leander Paes and Andre Begemann c)    Leander Paes and Henri Kontinen d)    Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen 7.    Name the satellite of students of IIT, Bombay that was launched in ISRO’s launch in which it sent eight satellites to space under one mission? a)    Pratham b)    PISAT c)    SCATSAT-1 d)    Junoon 8.    Name the country whose voters have given a strong approval to a law on new surveillance powers for the intelligence agencies. a)    Japan b)    Germany c)    Philippines d)    Switzerland 9.    Who of the following was appointed as the Additional Secretary in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council? a)    CK Asnani b)    Arun Goyal c)    Monika Kapil Mohta d)    Mukund Choudhari 10.    Who of the following won the women’s doubles title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy? a)    Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis b)    Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang c)    Zhaoxuan Yang and Barbora Strycova d)    Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova 11.    Name the person who won the Under-19 Asian Junior Individual squash championship title. a)    Tushar Shahani b)    Yash Fadte c)    Velavan Senthilkumar d)    Mohammad Al-Sarraj 12.    Union Health Ministry has decided to launch the Mission Parivar Vikas in what number of High Focus districts in seven states? a)    96 b)    112 c)    133 d)    145 13.    Name the Indian cricketer who became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test. a)    Ravichandran Ashwin b)    Ravindra Jadeja c)    Ishant Sharma d)    Bhuvneshwar Kumar 14.    Name the film that has been selected as India's entry to the 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) to be held in 2017 in the Foreign Language Film category. a)    Neerja b)    Udta Punjab c)    Sairat d)    Visaranai 15.    Name India’s largest civilian research and development agency that celebrated its platinum jubilee on 26 September 2016. a)    Council of Scientific and Industrial Research b)    Defence Research & Development Organisation c)    Directorate General of Civil Aviation d)    Indian Patent Office Answer. 1. (b) China 2. (a) Pincky Balhara 3. (d) Druzhba-2016 4. (c) Golf 5. (b) Alexander Zverev 6. (a) Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen 7. (a) Pratham 8. (d) Switzerland 9. (b) Arun Goyal 10. (d) Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova 11. (c) Velavan Senthilkumar 12. (d) 145 13. (a) Ravichandran Ashwin 14. (d) Visaranai 15. (a) Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Google launched app allo

Google launches instant messaging mobile app Allo Google on 21 September 2016 launched its latest mobile chat application, Allo, along with Google Assistant that can be used in online conversations with friends. The messaging app, which is available for Android and the iPhone, has similar features to most other messaging applications. In Allo, messages are not encrypted end-to-end by default. However, the messages can be switched to an incognito mode to do so and set how long they exist before they are deleted.  Key highlights of Google Allo • Allo's ‘Smart reply’ function uses Google's machine learning technology to suggest a reply to the last message, which can be selected from a few options. • The feature also analyses images sent to the user in order to suggest responses. • Similar to the smart reply feature seen in Google's Inbox app, it learns from the user's behaviour to adapt its suggestions over time. • It supports Google Assistant, a conversational virtual assistant. • A feature ‘Whisper Shout’ allows the user to increase or decrease the size of a message to represent volume. • Allo also lets users draw on photos before sending them. • Incognito mode is an optional mode that includes expiring chats, private notifications, and end-to-end encryption. • For encryption, the app uses the Signal Protocol. Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1  Current Affairs App   Click below to see the complete story http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/Google-launches-instant-messaging-mobile-app-Allo-1474957698-1 Sent via Jagran Josh

Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh presented Antyodaya Krishi Puruskars

Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh presented Antyodaya Krishi Puruskars Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on 25 September 2016 gave away Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Krishi Puruskars to 12 farmers for their contribution in the agriculture sector. They were felicitated during a function at the birth place of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in Mathura.  Winners of the award National Award for the year 2016: Krishna Yadav, an enterprising lady farmer from, Dinpur, Najafgarh, New Delhi for her outstanding achievements in the processing and value addition of food especially fruits and vegetables. Zonal awardees includes Award from Zone I: Jinder Singh, a small farmer from Roopnagar, Punjab won the award for starting a nursery of vegetable crops under the brand name ‘Chamkaur Sahib Paniri Farm’. Zone I comprises of the states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Award from Zone II: Pooja Sharma, a small Haryana farmer won the award for her innovative ways of farming. Zone II comprises of the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi Award from Zone III: Moti, a small farmer from Saidasaunkh village in Mathura won the award for his outstanding skills in innovative ways of farming which includes production of seeds of new varieties and planting material and distributing it among the fellow farmers at reasonable rates. Zone III covers entire Uttar Pradesh. Award from Zone IV: Deepak Kumar Singh from Bishanpur Banka, Bihar won the award for cultivation and sale of mushroom which has enabled him to earn a sizeable income from this activity. Zone IV comprises of the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Award from Zone V: Ashok Kumar Sarkar, Nimbudera, a small farmer from, Andaman and Nicobar Island was awarded for his outstanding entrepreneurial skill in agriculture production. Zone V comprises of the states of West Bengal, Orissa and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Award from Zone VI: Anuradha Chhetri of Pakyong, East Sikkim was awarded for diversification of agricultural activities with orchids can be a boon for the farmers having small landholding in the hilly regions of the country. Zone VI comprises of the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Award from Zone VII: Biswajit Majumder from Sabroom, Tripura has been awarded for establishment of a farmer’s club in his village. Zone VII comprises of the eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Award from Zone VIII: Hasam Bhai Jumabhai Musangara, an enterprising fish farmer from Gir, Somnath, Gujarat was awarded for his outstanding achievements in Agriculture especially fisheries. Zone VIII comprises of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli. Award from Zone IX: Balaram Patidar a progressive and innovative farmer from Sarangi, in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh was awarded for cultivating horticultural and cash crops using scientific technologies. Zone IX comprises of the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Award from Zone X: Alluri Suryanarayana Murthy, a small farmer from East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh was awarded for adopting an integrated farming system which has enabled the farmers in his surrounding areas to reap huge benefits. Zone X comprises of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Award from Zone XI: A traditional fisherman A Baburaj from Kozhikode, Kerala won the award for successfully adopting sustainable brackish water aquaculture practices as a livelihood option. Zone XI comprises of the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Krishi Puruskar As part of the Centenary Celebrations of Deendayal Upadhaya, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has instituted Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Krishi Puruskar at national and zonal levels in 2016. The awards include one award at national level comprising one lakh rupees and 11 zonal awards comprising of 50 thousand rupees each along with a citation and certificate.  Purpose of setting the award This award was instituted for recognizing the contributions of marginal, small and landless farmers for developing integrated and sustainable models of agricultural farming.

ChinA unveils five hundred meter Apesphericalrthre telescope

China unveils Five-hundred-meter ApeSphericalrture Telescope in search for extraterrestrial life China on 25 September 2016 officially launched the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in a mountainous region of Guizhou province. The telescope was launched to hunt for extraterrestrial life and explore space.  Key highlights of Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope • The FAST is a radio telescope located in the Dawodang depression, a natural basin in Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, southwest China. • It consists of a fixed 500 m dish constructed in a natural depression in the landscape. • It is the world's largest filled aperture (single dish) radio telescope. • It is the second largest radio telescope after the Russian RATAN-600. • The final cost of the project is 180 million US dollars. • Construction on the FAST project began in 2011 and was completed in July 2016. • The chief scientist of the project is Nan Rendong. • It has a fixed primary reflector located in a natural hollow in the landscape, focusing radio waves on a receiver suspended 140 m above it. • The reflector is made of perforated aluminium panels supported by a mesh of steel cables hanging from the rim. • Its surface is made of 4450 triangular panels, 11 m on a side, in the form of a geodesic dome. • It is capable of pointing anywhere within ±40° from the zenith.

IIT-M develops a lab-on-a-chip diagnostic device

 IIT-M develops a lab-on-a-chip diagnostic device

A team led by Prof. Ashis Kumar Sen, the corresponding author of the paper from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, used a 2-cm-long microchannel device that employs capillary force to draw blood into the device to separate plasma from whole blood and test glucose level in diabetic patients.

The first part of the microchannel device has hydrophilic walls (top and two side walls) that help the blood sample to be drawn in through capillary force. But one centimetre away, all the four walls of the microchannel are hydrophobic. Like a drop of water on a Teflon surface, the blood comes together and forms a large contact angle (more than 90 degrees) when it enters the hydrophobic region. The forward movement of the blood is suddenly impeded and the blood cells tend to accumulate in the hydrophobic region of the microchannel.

Unlike blood cells, the plasma with its low viscosity continues to move forward due to the momentum gained while passing through the hydrophilic region. “The blood cells slow down and then stop moving at the hydrophobic region and form a self built-in filter, while the plasma continues to move past the cells,” says Prof. Sen. “By creating a differential wetting behaviour in the microchannel we were able to separate the plasma from the blood cells.” Separating the plasma from blood cells is essential as it improves sensitivity and reliability. Most blood analyses are based on optical detection techniques, and the blood cells present tend to interfere with the optical path resulting in low sensitivity.

The device does not require any external or internal power as it relies on capillary force to draw blood and the separation of plasma from blood cells is achieved through differential wetting behaviour of the microchannel walls.

“Only 5 microlitre of blood is required and in 15 minutes we get 450 nanolitre of plasma which further increases with time. With suitable design modifications we have also achieved higher plasma volume up to 2 microlitre in 15 min, which is adequate for detection of most analytes,” says M. Sneha Maria, the first author of the paper from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras. It takes 15-20 minutes to test the samples and get the results.

The detection platform for different diseases and conditions can be integrated within the device inside the hydrophobic region. “This is a proof-of-concept study so we used commercially available glucose test strips to detect glucose level in the blood samples,” says Maria. The sensitivity of the disposable device is comparable to conventional blood tests, says Prof. Sen.

Unlike the microchannel device used by the IIT team, commercial glucometers rely on whole blood for testing. Using whole blood can cause measurement errors due to various hematocrit levels (the ratio of the volume of red cells to the volume of whole blood). When the hematocrit levels are high the viscosity of blood is more and this leads to low glucose concentration and underestimation. Overestimation results when the hematocrit levels are low. “There is a likelihood of more than 10 per cent error in glucose detection when whole blood is used,” says Maria.

The team is now testing the device for diagnosis of dengue. Currently, rapid diagnostic test kits (RDTs) either use whole blood which affects the sensitivity or centrifuged plasma for dengue detection. This is where the device can score over others.

Prof. Sen is hopeful that the device can be used for parallel detection of analytes for several diseases using just one blood sample. “We intend to separate the plasma to multiple detection sites for studying several diseases in one go,” he says.

Ten things to know about the PSLV's longest-ever flight

Here are the details of the launch and payloads:

 

— The PSLV-C35 will be launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota at 9.12 a.m. tomorrow. The total weight of all the eight satellites is about 675 kg.

— The SCATSAT-1 will be released first into a 730 km Polar Sunsynchronous Orbit (SSO) after about 17 minutes and the rest will be injected into a lower orbit of 689 km after around two hours. The flight is PSLV’s longest ever.

— There will be two re-ignitions of the launch vehicle for this purpose. The launch team engineers will shut down and restart the fourth and last stage of the vehicle twice during the flight.

— Besides SCATSAT-1, the others are PRATHAM and PISAT, two academic satellites from India; ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N (all from Algeria); and Pathfinder-1 and NLS-19, from the USA and Canada, respectively.

— This will be the 15th flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration with the use of solid strap-on motors.

— The mission objectives of SCATSAT-1 are to help provide weather forecasting services, cyclone detection and tracking. It has a design life of 15 years.

— The five-kg student satellite PISAT carries an imaging camera as payload to capture imagery of 185 km x 135 km area with about 80m/pixel resolution. The satellite is developed by students of PES University, Bengaluru.

— The other student satellite, PRATHAM, is developed by IIT Bombay.

— The PSLV has so far launched 39 remote-sensing satellites of ISRO, including the Chandrayaan-1 of 2008 and the Mars mission of 2013-14.

— It has also orbited 74 foreign commercial and university satellites in a global trend where the demand for its category of launch services is increasing.