Scrub typhus is key encephalitis cause in eastern U.P.: study

Why in news?

Three years of data from Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College has confirmed that the majority of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) patients admitted to the hospital between August and October each year have scrub typhus. This finding is important, given that scrub typhus can be treated easily if detected early.

About Scrub typhus

• Scrub typhus is a mite-borne disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia tsutsugamushi).
• tsutsugamushi is transmitted by trombiculid mite larvae (chiggers), which feed on forest and rural rodents, including rats, voles, and field mice. Human infection also follows a chigger bite. The mites are both the vector and the natural reservoir for O. tsutsugamushi.
• Scrub typhus is endemic in an area of Asia-Pacific bounded by Japan, Korea, China, India, and northern Australia.
• After an incubation period of 6 to 21 days (mean 10 to 12 days), fever, chills, headache, and generalized lymphadenopathy start suddenly. At onset of fever, an eschar often develops at the site of the chigger bite.
• No licensed vaccines are available.

8888 uprising

Why in News?

August 8 marks the 30th anniversary of this uprising.

About 8888 uprising

• It was a series of nationwide protests, marches and civil unrest in Burma (Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and therefore it is known as the 8888 Uprising.
• ‘8888’ was a people’s movement that challenged the then ruling Burma Socialist Programme Party’s grip on political, economic and social affairs which led the country into extreme poverty.
• The objective of ‘8888’ was two-fold: to push for the transfer of power from the military to a civilian leadership and a change in the political system from an authoritarian regime to a multi-party democracy.
• The protests and the bloody crackdown gave rise to the National League for Democracy (NLD), a political party which paved the way for the current Myanmar State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi’s entry into politics and for the pro-democracy movement to continue.

Uakitite

Why in news?

Uakitite is a new mineral has been discovered in a meteorite in Eastern Russia.

About uakitite

• It is named “uakitite” after the Uakit region of Siberia where the meteorite was discovered.
• 98% of the Uakit meteorite is an iron alloy called kamacite, which so far has only been found in other meteorites. The other two percent is comprised of minerals that form in space.

Maitree 2018

• It is an annual joint military training exercise between India and Thailand. The 2018 edition of this exercise is being held in Thailand.
• The aim of this exercise is to build and promote closer relations while exchanging skills and experiences between the two armies.
• Last exercise was held in Himachal Pradesh’s Bakloh in 2017.

Xingkong-2

Why in news?

China successfully tested its first cutting-edge hypersonic “waverider” flight vehicle (aircraft) Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2).

About Xingkong-2

• Waverider is flight vehicle that flies in atmosphere and uses shockwaves generated by its own hypersonic flight with air to glide at high speed. Currently, United States and Russia have been carrying out similar experiments.
• It can carry can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. It has capability to penetrate any current generation anti-missile defence systems due to its high speed and unpredictable trajectory.
• As compared to it, current generation of anti-missile defence systems is mainly designed to intercept cruise and ballistic missiles which are either slower or easier to predict, making them possible to intercept.
• In addition to its military use, hypersonic waverider flight vehicle may also see civil use in the future.

DND 2.0 & MyCall

Why in news?

Recognizing the importance of reaching out to the consumers and to safeguard their interests, TRAI has now integrated its Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 & MyCall with UMANG Platform.

About UMANG

• UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is developed by National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• UMANG provides a single platform for all Indian Citizens to access pan India e-Gov services ranging from Central to Local Government bodies and other citizen centric services.
• It provides a unified approach where citizens can install one application to avail multiple government services. From now onwards, TRAI’s Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 &MyCall shall also be available on Umang Platform.

TRAI MyCall App

• TRAI MyCall is an intuitive and user friendly application for Crowd sourced Voice Call Quality Monitoring.
• The Application helps Mobile phone users to rate their experience about voice call quality in real time and help TRAI gather consumer experience data along with Network data.
• A pop up requests the user to rate the call after it ends. Callers simply select their rating in the form of stars and indicate if the calls were made in indoor, outdoor or while travelling.
• Caller scan also provide additional details such as noise or audio delay or mark a call-drop.

DND 2.0 App

DND (Do Not Disturb) Services App enables smart phone users to register their mobile number under DND and report spam messages or calls to avoid Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC)/Telemarketing Calls/SMS.