Quiz Questions 16 February 2023 (Key)

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding Guillain Barre Syndrome:

1) Guillain Barre Syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder.
2) It is caused by bacteria or viral infection.
3) There are no reported cases of patients infected with Covid-19 showing the symptoms of Guillain Barre Syndrome.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

A. 1, 3
B. 2, 3
C. 1, 2
D. 1 only

Solution:
(C)

o In a rare complication, some patients infected with Covid-19 have been found suffering from Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS).
o In India, such cases have been reported since August.

o What is Guillain Barre Syndrome?
o It is a very rare autoimmune disorder.
o The immune system, in an attempt to kill the coronavirus, accidentally starts attacking the peripheral nervous system.
o GBS is caused by bacteria or viral infection.
o In the past, patients of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome showed GBS symptoms, as did those infected with Zika, HIV, Herpes virus and Campylobacter jejuni.

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding Kala-azar:

1) Kala-azar is a tropical disease characterised by irregular fever, weight loss, anaemia and swelling of the spleen and liver.
2) It is caused by a protozoan Leishmania parasite and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female sandflies.
3) India has been successful in controlling the disease outbreak and accounts for about one-tenth of the total global cases.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

A. 1, 2
B. 1, 3
C. 2, 3
D. 1, 2, 3

Solution:
(A)

o Kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a tropical disease characterised by irregular fever, weight loss, anaemia and swelling of the spleen and liver.
o It is caused by a protozoan Leishmania parasite and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female sandflies.
o According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), globally, about 7 to 10 lakh new cases occur annually.
o India accounts for about two-thirds of the total global cases, and the disease is endemic to Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
o An initiative was launched by WHO to eliminate VL as a public health problem from the South East Asia region by 2020.
o The deadline has now been extended to 2023.

Q3. Hayabusa 2 project, recently seen in news is related to:

A. Developing fuel cell that finds commercial applications
B. Asteroid sample-return mission
C. An orbiting spacecraft which seeks to become the first to be propelled solely by sunlight
D. Astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope

Solution:
(B)

o Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu a year ago and is expected to reach Earth and drop a capsule containing the precious samples in southern Australia on December 6.
o The soil samples and data from the asteroid could provide clues to the origins of the solar system.

o Hayabusa2 project:
o It is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA.

Q4. The three-drug Bedaquiline, Pretomanid and Linezolid (BPaL) regimen is used to treat:

A. Coronavirus disease
B. Hepatitis B
C. Tuberculosis
D. Measles

Solution:
(C)

o At a time when the world grapples with highly treatment-resistant tuberculosis, the recently approved three-drug regimen to tackle the condition has shown a 90 per cent favourable outcome, according to a new study.

Q5. The Internet is expanding everyday necessitating the development of new storage. Among the following, what is the correct ascending order of data size or data storage:

1) Terabyte
2) Exabyte
3) Petabyte
4) Zettabyte

Select the correct answer code:

A. 1-2-3-4
B. 1-3-4-2
C. 1-3-2-4
D. 1-2-4-3

Solution:
(C)

Q6. CIBER-2 mission, recently seen in news is related to:

A. Study atmospheric chemistry of Planet Venus
B. Study the Martian environment and look for evidences of past and current lifeforms.
C. Studying the supernova remnants
D. Count the number of stars that exist in the Universe.

Solution:
(D)

o CIBER-2: The aim of this mission is to count the number of stars that exist in the Universe.
o While this is not the first time that such a mission has been undertaken, the CIBER-2 instrument has been improved upon to see if any stars had been undercounted in the previous counting attempts.

Q7. Supercomputing play an important role in which of the following fields:

1) Quantum mechanics
2) Weather forecasting
3) Oil and gas exploration
4) Genomics
5) Drug discovery

Select the correct answer code:

A. 1, 2, 3, 4
B. 2, 3, 4, 5
C. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
D. 1, 3, 4, 5

Solution:
(C)

o Supercomputers are used for a wide range of computationally intensive tasks in various fields, including quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, flood prediction, climate research, oil and gas exploration, genomics and drug discovery.

Q8. Earth-observation satellites are used for which of the following purposes:

1) Land and forest monitoring
2) Mapping of water and mineral resources
3) Weather and climate observations
4) Soil assessment

Select the correct answer code:

A. 1, 2, 3
B. 1, 3, 4
C. 2, 3, 4
D. 1, 2, 3, 4

Solution:
(D)

o What are earth-observation satellites used for?
o Land and forest mapping and monitoring, mapping of resources like water or minerals or fishes, weather and climate observations, soil assessment, geospatial contour mapping are all done through earthobservation satellites.
o They are intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, cartography and others.

Q9. Which of the following statements best describes ‘Hard Currency’:

A. It is a currency used during the balance of payment crisis.
B. It is a currency having wide circulation in international market.
C. It is a currency widely accepted around the world as a form of payment for goods and services.
D. None of the above are correct.

Solution:
(C)

o HARD CURRENCY refers to money that is issued by a nation that is seen as politically and economically stable.
o HARD CURRENCIES are widely accepted around the world as a form of payment for goods and services and may be preferred over the domestic CURRENCY

Q10. Consider the following statements regarding Devaluation of currency:

1) Devaluation decreases the prices of imports purchased in the home country.
2) Devaluation can be employed to eliminate balance-of-payments deficits.
3) Devaluation will not be effective if the balance-of-payments disequilibrium is a result of basic structural flaws in a country’s economy.

Which of the above statements is/are correct:

A. 1, 2
B. 1, 3
C. 2, 3
D. 1, 2, 3

Solution:
(C)

o Devaluation, reduction in the exchange value of a country’s monetary unit in terms of gold, silver, or foreign monetary units.
o Devaluation is employed to eliminate persistent balance-of-payments deficits.
o For example, a devaluation of currency will decrease prices of the home country’s exports that are purchased in the import country’s currency.
o While making the exported goods cheaper for other countries, devaluation also increases the prices of imports purchased in the home country.
o Devaluation will not be effective if the balance of-payments disequilibrium is a result of basic structural flaws in a country’s economy.