1) Senna Spectabilis: It is an invasive species introduced as an ornamental species and for use as firewood from South and Central America. IUCN: Least Concern. Invasion is most severe in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kerala has recently come out with a management plan to eradicate Senna spectabilis in Periyar Tiger Reserve which is located in Western Ghats in Kerala and drained by the rivers Mullayar and Periyar. Flora: tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests .
2) Neglected Tropical Diseases: The “Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2023” report has been published on World NTD Day — January 30, 2023, by World Health Organization (WHO)
- NTDs are a group of 20 conditions mainly prevalent in tropical areas where people do not have access to clean water or safe ways to dispose of human waste.
- They are caused by various pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins. NTDs are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
- London Declaration on NTD was adopted on 30th January 2012 to recognize the global burden of NTDs.
3) Nitrate Radicals: It is an oxide of nitrogen that consists of three oxygen atoms bound to a nitrogen atom. Nitrogen oxides are reactive gases that regulate the formation of air pollutants, including ozone and PM 2.5 particles. Nitrate radicals will oxidize gas pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which will then generate ozone and secondary organic aerosol.
- Recently, a new study has found that parts of India and China are hotspots for the night-time production of nitrate radicals.
4) Assets under management (AUM): AUM is the total market value of investments a financial institution (such as a bank, mutual fund, or hedge fund) owns or manages on behalf of its clients.
- AUM can be calculated in different ways, depending on the firm’s discretion.
- The calculation is done on the basis of either the total capital that the firm handles or calculating the Individual client’s money.
- AUM fluctuates daily reflecting the variable returns from stocks, mutual funds and change in prices of fixed investment. AUM helps to build the market value of the firm. It can be used as a market tool to attract potential new customers.
5) Project ELLORA (Enabling Low Resource Languages): Microsoft Research is helping preserve ‘rare’ Indian languages with its Project ELLORA in India by creating digital ecosystems for Indian languages that do not have enough presence online. 3 languages have been taken up:
- Gondi Language it is a South-Central Dravidian language. The Gondi script is perhaps the only script in the country besides Urdu which is written right to left.
- In northern and central India, it is the only language, barring Gujarati, which has a script of its own. All other north and central Indian languages use the Devnagri script.
- Mundari (Munɖari) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken by the Munda tribes in the eastern Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
- The Idu Mishmi language is a small language spoken by the Mishmi people in the Dibang Valley district, of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh speakers in China 1994.
- It is considered an endangered language.
