Insights Static Quiz -31, 2018 – General Science

Solution: a)

The primary function of the small intestine is the absorption of nutrients and minerals from food, using small finger-like protrusions called villi. (Hence statement 1 is wrong)

In the small intestine, structurally, the mucosa is covered in wrinkles or folds called plicae circulares, which are considered permanent features in the wall of the organ. They are distinct from rugae which are considered non-permanent or temporary allowing for distention and contraction. From the plicae circulares project microscopic finger-like pieces of tissue called villi (Latin for “shaggy hair”). The individual epithelial cells also have finger-like projections known as microvilli. The functions of the plicae circulares, the villi, and the microvilli are to increase the amount of surface area available for the absorption of nutrients, and to limit the loss of said nutrients to intestinal fauna.

Solution: d)

First 3 are the functions of spleen (check here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spleen#Function)

Last one is the function of liver.

Previously UPSC has asked question on functions of pancreas.

Solution: b)

Novichok is a series of nerve agents the Soviet Union and Russia developed between 1971 and 1993. Russian scientists who developed the agents claim they are the deadliest nerve agents ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX, and others up to ten times more potent than soman.

Novichok agents have never been used on the battlefield. Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said that one such agent was used in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in England in March 2018.[10] Russia officially denies producing or researching Novichok agents.

A pulmonary agent, or choking agent, is a chemical weapon agent designed to impede a victim’s ability to breathe. They operate by causing a build-up of fluids in the lungs, which then leads to suffocation. Exposure to the eyes and skin tends to be corrosive, causing blurred vision and severe deep burns. Inhalation of these agents cause burning of the throat, coughing, vomiting, headache, pain in chest, tightness in chest, and respiratory and circulatory failure. Example – chlorine gas.

Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter.

Solution: d)

Polar bear is considered as ocean mammal. (http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/)

Check here photos of freshwater mammals:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/freshwater-mammals/

Solution: c)

Serum albumin is the most abundant blood plasma protein and is produced in the liver and forms a large proportion of all plasma protein. The human version is human serum albumin, and it normally constitutes about 50% of human plasma protein. Serum albumins are important in regulating blood volume by maintaining the oncotic pressure (also known as colloid osmotic pressure) of the blood compartment.

They also serve as carriers for molecules of low water solubility this way isolating their hydrophobic nature, including lipid-soluble hormones, bile salts, unconjugated bilirubin, free fatty acids (apoprotein), calcium, ions (transferrin), and some drugs like warfarin, phenobutazone, clofibrate & phenytoin. For this reason, it is sometimes referred as a molecular “taxi”. Competition between drugs for albumin binding sites may cause drug interaction by increasing the free fraction of one of the drugs, thereby affecting potency.