Daily Current Affairs 05th April 2020 iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-05th-april-2020/
Today’s Important Topic’s For UPSC Preparation 1. OPEC, RUSSIA DELAY MEETING. 2. 42% OF PATIENTS BETWEEN 21 &40 YEARS. 3. PANDEMIC DRIVES ONCOLOGISTS TO TWEAK CANCER TREATMENTS. 4. MASS TRANSPORT MAY NOT RESUME FULLY IN KEY CITIES IN APRIL. 5. GROUNDING OF PLANES AFFECTS IMD’S WEATHER DATA SUPPLY. 6. LIGHTS-OFF EVENT WILL NOT HARM GRID: MINISTRY. 7. STUDY LISTS 69 EXISTING DRUGS TO TARGET NOVEL CORONAVIRUS.
OPEC, RUSSIA DELAY MEETING OPEC: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) is an Permanent, intergovernmental organization of 14 nations. founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (1) Iran, (2) Iraq, (3) Kuwait, (4) Saudi Arabia, and (5) Venezuela. OPEC added 11 additional member countries they are (6) Qatar (1961), (7) Indonesia (1962), (8) Libya (1962), (9) The United Arab Emirates (1967), (10) Algeria (1969), 1/14
(11) Nigeria (1971), (12) Ecuador (1973), (13) Gabon (1975), (14) Angola (2007), (15) Equatorial Guinea (2017), and (16) Congo (2018). Qatar terminated its membership on Jan. 1, 2019. Indonesia suspended its membership on Nov. 30, 2016. As of 2019 the organization consists of 14 states. OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. Headquartered since 1965 in Vienna, Austria. OPEC is a cartel that aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil on the world market. According to its statutes, OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and shares the ideals of the organization.
How OPEC Works: As a cartel, OPEC members have a strong incentive to keep oil prices as high as possible while maintaining their shares of the global market. The advent of new technology, especially fracking in the United States, has had a major effect on worldwide oil prices and has lessened OPEC’s influence on the markets.
Fracking: Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing, which is the process of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting specialized fluid into cracks to force them to open further. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formations and into the wellbore, from where they can be easily extracted. Fracking has resulted in many oil and gas wells attaining a state of economic viability due to the level of extraction that can be reached and has allowed drilling firms access to previously difficult-to-reach sources of oil and gas. 2/14
As of January 2020, OPEC has 13 member countries. Ecuador announced that it would leave OPEC on 1 January 2020. Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources released an official statement on 2 January 2020 which confirmed that Ecuador had left OPEC. Though it was still listed as a member state on OPEC’s website as of 7 January. Approval of a new member country requires agreement by three-quarters of OPEC’s existing members, including all five of the founders. In October 2015, Sudan formally submitted an application to join, but it is not yet a member.
OPEC+ Members: In addition to the OPEC members, the following 10 more oil exporting countries led by Russia, are grouped as OPEC+ cartel from the year 2016.
OPEC+ countries excluding OPEC Russia Azerbaijan Bahrain Brunei Kazakhstan 3/14
Malaysia Mexico Oman South Sudan Sudan They cooperate in fixing the global crude oil prices by agreeing to production quotas so that global production is below the global demand/consumption. The non-OPEC countries which export crude oilare termed as OPEC plus countries.
Why in News? OPEC and Russia have postponed a meeting planned for Monday until later next week. OPEC sources said on Saturday, as a row intensified between Moscow and Saudi Arabia over who is to blame for plunging oil prices. The meeting’s delay came despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+. To urgently stabilise global oil markets.
Output Cut: OPEC+ is working on an unprecedented oil output curb equal to about 10% of world supply, or 10 million barrels per day. Oil prices hit an 18-year low on March 30 due to sliding demand caused by government lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Failure of OPEC and other producers led by Russia to extend an earlier deal on output curbs that expired on March 31.
4/14
Losing flow: The postponement comes despite U.S. President Trump appeal to stabilise prices.
42% OF PATIENTS BETWEEN 21 &40 YEARS About 42% of those confirmed positive for COVID-19 in India are between the ages of 21-40 years old, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.
Demography of the disease in India: Only 17% of those testing positive were over 60. By comparison, data from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control said 29% of those affected were in the 20-44 age group and 32% were above 60. India recorded 2,904 cases and 75 deaths as on Saturday compared to the 2,79,355 cases and 7,451 deaths in the United States. 9% of those testing positive were below 20 years in India. The Ministry said the number of new cases recorded nationwide between Friday and Saturday was 601, with 58 critically ill in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
Data from State Health Department: The death toll from the outbreak, rose to 103 with Maharashtra reporting the maximum at 32. The most number of active cases were also reported from Maharashtra at 551. Followed by Tamil Nadu with 476 and Delhi with 431 of the total 3,196 cases.
Quick Results: 5/14
As the number of cases continued to rise, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued an advisory to start rapid antibody based blood tests in areas reporting clusters and in large migration gatherings or evacuee centres. The results of such tests will be available in 15-30 minutes. The Health Ministry said nearly 30% of the cases were linked to last month’s Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi.
PANDEMIC DRIVES ONCOLOGISTS TO TWEAK CANCER TREATMENTS The COVID-19 outbreak has posed a unique challenge for oncology experts across the country — to balance the higher risk of exposure to the virus on account of the treatments and the risk of progression of cancer in their patients. To tackle this, oncologists are switching patients to less aggressive therapies, postponing surgeries where possible and opting to individualise the treatment approach for each patient. Since February, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus had found its way to India, Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Mumbai began decreasing the intensity of chemotherapy in cases where it was possible.
Reasons: Intensive cancer therapies result in decreased blood count, more immunosuppression and often require blood platelet transfusions. These patients are thus at high risk of catching the infection.
Data from China:
6/14
They relied on data from China, which showed a high mortality rate due to COVID19 in cancer patients on active treatment. An analysis of patients in China published in The Lancet Oncology in March stated that patients with cancer might have a higher risk of COVID-19 than individuals without cancer. Patients with cancer had poorer outcomes from COVID-19, providing a timely reminder to physicians that more intensive attention should be paid to patients with cancer, in case of rapid deterioration. Data from China has shown that mortality in cancer patients was two times higher as compared to general patients with COVID-19. Italy had recorded a 20% mortality in cancer patients. We have to use this data for our learning. We are trying to make multiple interventions on case to case basis. For example, we are switching elderly cancer patients on oral therapies instead of intravenous, opting for milder therapies and also reducing their hospital visits. But it all differs on a case to case basis, based on the biology of cancer.
Oncology: Oncologyis a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist.
MASS TRANSPORT MAY NOT RESUME FULLY IN KEY 7/14
CITIES IN APRIL Mass transport, cinemas, malls, and industries with a large workforce are not likely to be back to normal fully even after the end of the 21-day lockdown in COVID-19 hotspot districts such as Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru where the number of cases has been rising in the last few days. The State government is not likely to grant permission to mass transport providers, cinemas, malls, and industries to operate services/business at least for a couple of weeks in April. Mass transport system was unlikely to resume operations in places such as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Chickballapur in April. The services of Namma Metro and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses are unlikely to be back to normal in April. Owing to revenue shortfall, the government may consider granting permission to BangaloreOne centres to remain open for a limited hours during the day. This would help residents to pay bills of various service providers. There are 191 BangaloreOne centres in the city.
Districts Unaffected: Markets, petty business establishments, small-scale industries, handicraft shops, and small hotels would be allowed to operate businesses in COVID-19-free districts. The government has planned to set up a ministerial team on formulating a plan for a “staggered exit� of lockdown in different cities, districts, and sector-wise industries. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is expected to hold consultations on this issue with Ministers and form the team. The proposed team is expected to suggest to the government the type of industries that are eligible to reopen after the lockdown period. As a large number of workforce in the State is depending on over six lakh smalland medium-scale industries, the government is expected to grant permission to open industries with a handful of employees.
8/14
Services unlikely to resume totally in places such as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Chickballapur.
GROUNDING OF PLANES AFFECTS IMD’S WEATHER DATA SUPPLY The grounding of the country’s civilian aircraft has strangled a key source of weather data that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses for its forecasts. Officials, however, clarified that India’s annual monsoon forecast system was on track, with the first forecast scheduled to be issued in mid-April. Aircraft relay data about temperature and wind speed in the upper atmosphere to meteorological agencies the world over and this is used in the dynamical models. The ones which are run on super computers and relied on to give weather forecasts three days, or even two weeks in advance. Inputs from aircraft are important for the dynamical models as they determine the initial conditions for these models. However, for the monsoon forecast, which is a long-term forecast, this isn’t significantly affected.” Beginning mid-March, India began restricting incoming international flights into the country and by March 24 imposed a total shutdown on domestic air travel as well.
Traditional System: 9/14
This year, the IMD will likely rely on its traditional statistical forecast system — the workhorse, developed on the basis of historical data. India had begun to move away from this system and started to rely on its dynamical models as it better captures developing changes in the atmosphere. However, India’s dynamical models are still not as adept as meteorologists want them to be, for warning of a drought or extreme changes in monsoon rainfall. That, and limited data from aircraft as well as a general decline in land-based information because of a shortage of manpower to send observations, are forcing the agency’s hand. We need multiple observations from weather stations from all parts of the country. Aviation-generated data is also helpful to warn of developing thunderstorms or swings in temperatures that often begin at the heights aircraft traverse.
From the skies: The inputs sent by aircraft are important as they determine the initial conditions.
LIGHTS-OFF EVENT WILL NOT HARM GRID: MINISTRY India’s power grid is likely to come to no harm on account of the mass switching off of electric lights on Sunday, the Power Ministry has said Some apprehensions have been expressed that this may cause instability in the grid and fluctuation in voltage which may harm the electrical appliances. It said the electricity grid was “robust and stable”, and adequate arrangements and protocols were in place to handle the variation in demand.
Only Residential Lights: 10/14
It said the call was not to switch off street lights or computers, television sets, fans, refrigerators and air conditioners. Only lights should be switched off, but not except in hospitals and other essential services such as public utilities, municipal services, offices, police stations, manufacturing facilities. To dispel the “deep darkness” that the pandemic had wrought, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday exhorted Indians to switch off their residential lights at 9 p.m. on Sunday. Light candles or flash their phone-lights in the following nine minutes. Power companies say a sudden dip and then a spike in supply could threaten the stability of the grid and may cause some of them to trip. Power System Operation Corporation (Posoco) Ltd, a public sector company in charge of managing the grid load, said it expected a 12-13 GW (1 gigawatt is 1,000 megawatt) dip and a subsequent surge in 17 minutes.
20% Down: With the lockdown in force, power suppliers across India are already grappling with a 20% dip in demand. An instability in the grid would wobble the frequency range at which electricity flows and threaten an outage. In an advisory, Posoco described the anticipated fluctuation in demand as “unprecedented” and would need hydro and gas resources to help the grid retain its stability. The method of management would be a phased reduction in gas- and hydro generation from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at inter-State generating stations and then a ramping up from 9:10 onwards.
11/14
STUDY LISTS 69 EXISTING DRUGS TO TARGET NOVEL CORONAVIRUS In a breathtaking feat, nearly 100 scientists from across the globe worked together to study the genes of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and have published a list of drugs that can be repurposed to treat COVID-19. The study posted on preprint server bioRxiv on March 27 is yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal. The proteins of the virus must attach to the human proteins to cause the infection. The team studied 26 coronavirus genes that help in the production of these proteins. It also studied human proteins and found 332 SARS-CoV-2 and human protein interactions. 12/14
The team then listed 67 human proteins that can be targeted by 69 drugs to fight the infection. These drugs include the those under clinical trials and/or preclinical compounds. When the virus invades the cells, it hijacks the cells’ molecular machinery to replicate itself because it cannot do this on its own. The drugs we have identified may be able to inhibit these molecular machines so that the virus can no longer use them for its own survival. However, they still need to be further tested.
Familiar Names: The list includes unexpected candidates such as entacapone used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Another is the antiviral medication named ribavirin, which was administered to Nipah patients in Kerala during the 2018 outbreak. Chloroquine, an antimalarial drug, and metformin, used to treat diabetes.
The Novel Coronavirus
WORD OF THE DAY Parkinson’s Disease: Parkinson’s diseaseis a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. Tremors are common, but the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement.
13/14
Parkinson’s Disease
Download
14/14