This Week I Learned -
* Progressive Web Apps can function offline with the help of service workers.
* Anthos provides a consistent multicloud management layer - whether on our cloud, some other provider’s, or your own on-premises data center.
* Grammarly, the ubiquitous grammar correction platform was founded by three Ukrainians – Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko and Dmytro Lider. Headquartered in both Ukraine and the US, the company is currently valued at $13 billion.
* Traces.AI uses artificial intelligence technology to analyse over 2,000 physical traits of a person using security cameras.
* The plot used in fiction can be differentiated into four types: linear, episodic, parallel, and flashback.
* A dual narrative is a form of narrative that tells a story in two different perspectives, usually two different people. Dual narrative is also an effective technique that can be used to tell the story of people (or one person) at two different points in time (Postcards from No Man's Land, Great Expectations).
* The film Slumdog Millionaire has a circular narrative which starts with the main character, Jamal, starring on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
* A story that ends in the same place it began is commonly called a circular or cyclical narrative. While literature during and after the Modernist period experimented heavily with nonlinear narrative, circular narrative appears in nearly every genre and in the mythologies of many cultures.
* Parallel storylines – also called parallel narratives or parallel plots – are story structures where the writer incorporates two or more separate stories. They're usually linked by a common character, event, or theme.
* Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s feature debut Khamoshi: The Musical (8/1996), the German film Jenseits der Stille (Beyond Silence, 12/1996), the French film La Famille Bélier (The Bélier Family, 2014) all have the idea of the deaf-mute parents and the musical daughter in common but the plot mechanics are completely different. Coda which won 3 Oscars is an English remake of the French film La Famille Bélier.
* During hibernation, metabolism slows down. Metabolism is the process that takes place in plants and animals to keep them alive. Hibernation is very different from sleep, which is a gentle resting state where unconscious functions are still performed. For some animals, hibernation does not have to do with temperature. Some animals like echidnas hibernate when there's no food. Small mammals are five times more likely to die each month when active than when hibernating. Bears are mammals that can go 100 days or so without needing to wake. Edible dormice (Glis glis). They can hibernate for more than 11 months at a time. Hibernating animals slow their metabolisms, cooling their bodies by 5° to 10°C (9° to 18°F). Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) can take this much further, cooling their bodies to subfreezing temperatures. - Nat Geo
* The Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) is primarily a scavenger, feeding mainly on dead fish and crabs, especially in wetlands and marshland, but occasionally hunts live prey such as hares and bats.They may also indulge in kleptoparasitism and attempt to steal prey from other birds. It also eats rice or cooked food left as an offering in India. Known as elang bondol in Indonesia, the brahminy kite is the official mascot of Jakarta. In Hinduism, it is considered as the contemporary representation of Garuda, the sacred bird of Vishnu.
* Aphasia is a neuro condition involving the inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions.
* Acromegaly is usually caused by the pituitary gland producing excess growth hormone (GH). In adults, too much of this hormone causes bones, cartilage, body organs, and other tissues to increase in size. Acromegaly can be put into remission. This means that the disease is stopped and many of the signs and symptoms reversed. It is most commonly diagnosed in middle age. Males and females are affected with equal frequency. The Great Khali (born Dalip Singh Rana), Indian professional wrestler, is best known for his tenure with WWE. He had his pituitary tumor removed in 2012, aged 39. It is assumed Goliath, if he has been a historical character, may have suffered from acromegaly. As acromegaly is often accompanied with poor near eyesight, he may not have been properly seeing what David was doing and prepared for it. Since acromegaly is also often accompanied with brittleness on bones, the sling stone may well have penetrated his forehead.
* Mary Ann Bevan started exhibiting the symptoms of acromegaly soon after she was married, around the age of 32. After the death of her husband, she no longer had the income to support herself and her four children. Bevan decided to capitalize on her appearance and entered an "Ugliest Woman" contest which she won.
* In 1900 malaria was prevalent in about 53% of the worlds land surface. 27% of the world's land surface was Malarious in 2002. Malaria is not a tropical disease. Rather, it is a disease that was eliminated everywhere but the tropics.
* Alopecia is thought to be an autoimmune condition, meaning that the body attacks itself. It can result in partial or total loss of hair, and can affect the head or the entire body. - NPR
* Every person with asthma has different triggers and reactions, making it difficult to establish one special diet for all. Consuming very cold foods and beverages, overeating, or physical activity after eating allergy-sensitive foods may cause asthma attacks. It’s also possible for food preservatives known as sulfites and bisulfites (found in dried fruits, prepared potatoes, bottled lemon or lime juices, alcohol, pickles, and shrimp among others) to trigger asthmatic reactions in sensitive individuals. In alcohol, for example, sulfur dioxide is inhaled while swallowing and may cause airways to contract. Although more rare, salicylates found in tea, coffee, and herbs may also trigger similar reactions. Similarly, avoiding gaseous foods (such as beans, carbonated drinks, onions, and garlic) may help to prevent bloating that has the potential to cause chest tightness and make it difficult to breathe. Antioxidants, a group of nutrients that protect the body from free radicals and reduce inflammation in the body, show the most promise for the reduction of lung swelling and asthma relief. Other nutrients that may help to improve asthma include Vitamin E (found in almonds, raw seeds, kale, broccoli, and hazelnuts), Vitamin D, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in fish oils, plant oils, nuts, and seeds such as flaxseed and chia seeds). Also other antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamin C found in many fruits and vegetables can help. - Go Ask Alice!
* For manufacturing beer, the four key ingredients required are malt, hops, water and yeast. A good beer makes use of 100% barley. Since, India grows wheat, maize, rice, sorghum and millet in abundance, malts out of these crops are allowed to be used in beer in India. Thus, Indian beer might comprise malted barley along with rice/maize/millet/corn syrup (aka adjuncts).
* The International Committee of the Red Cross has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has won twice.
* No Prime Minister of Pakistan has yet served it's full term of 5 years.
* Pierre Trudeau was a lawyer, professor, author and Prime Minister of Canada for fifteen years. His eldest son, Justin Trudeau, became the 23rd and current Prime Minister in 2015.
* Tu Youyou is a Chinese pharmaceutical chemist and educator. She discovered artemisinin (also known as qinghaosu) and dihydroartemisinin, drugs used to treat malaria. For her work, Tu received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura. She is the first Chinese Nobel Laureate in physiology or medicine, and the first female citizen of the People’s Republic of China to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. Tu Youyou was born, educated and carried out her research exclusively in China.
* Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar pledged his jewellery in Mumbai (then Bombay) and constructed the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam across Cauvery River across Srirangapatna
* 12 special courts have been set up across 11 States exclusively to try sitting MPs and MLAs.
* Structurally, one could say India is governed at multiple levels: centre, State, Divisions, Districts, Sub-districts, Blocks, and Villages. Every state has its own governing strategy preferences. Indian administration and political boundary shapefiles are available for district boundaries for states (hence country), village boundaries for states, and tehsil (administrative division) boundaries for states.
* As per Section 80G, a part of the amount that you contribute to an NGO qualifies for a tax deduction. The upper limit for this has been set at 10% of your Gross Total Income. Within this too, while donations to some organizations are 100% exempt from tax, while others are 50%. Donation in cash is allowed upto Rs. 2000/- only. You can easily check the registration of trust/ organization through the Income Tax Website.
* Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities. As per updated data till March 5, 2022, over 16.65 crore PANs, out of the total about 33 crore, have been linked with Aadhaar.
* The reconstruction of the Yadadri Temple has been made at a cost of Rs 1,280 crore in the past five-and-a-half years.
* “Barabar Caves”, 25km north of Gaya are the oldest rock-cut caves in India, 2300 BC
* Leading the pack for two-wheeler EVs are homegrown brands like Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech and Ather Energy. Hero Electric’s dominion has typically been the sub Rs. 55,000 low-cost, low-speed EV where it enjoys a significant market share. Ather Energy focuses on the premium high-speed EV market. In July 2020, Hero Electric launched its vehicle leasing/subscription ownership model. Batteries account for 40-50% of the cost of an EV. As the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways allowed registrations of EVs without batteries, it allowed Hero’s new ownership model to thrive.
* Art is how we decorate space; Music is how we decorate time. ― Jean Michel Basquiat
* In agriculture, God is your partner - Man Made Planet: Earth from Space
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