Prelims Focus – 30th April 2024

Opioids

In News: The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors, including fentanyl, during his three-day visit to China.

• Opioids are drugs that are either derived from or imitate natural substances found in the opium poppy plant. 
• They work by activating certain nerve cells in the brain and body that block pain signals. 
• They can provide pain relief and a feeling of euphoria, but they are also highly addictive. 
• Some common opioids include oxycodone, morphine, codeine, heroin, and fentanyl. 
• Opioid use can be dangerous and even fatal, as it can cause an overdose that affects the part of the brain responsible for breathing. 
• An opioid overdose can be identified by pinpoint pupils, unconsciousness, and difficulty breathing.

Raja Ravi Varma

In News: The original painting Indulekha by Raja Ravi Varma will be revealed for the first time at the Kilimanoor Palace in Kerala, where the artist was born, as part of the celebrations for his 176th birthday.

• Raja Ravi Varma was a renowned Indian painter known for his incredible paintings of Hindu mythology and Indian royalty. 
• He was born in the princely state of Travancore in Kerala and is considered one of the greatest painters in Indian art history. 
• Varma was the first Indian artist to use Western techniques and oil paints in his works, and his paintings were widely acclaimed both in India and internationally. 
• He received numerous awards and accolades for his work, including gold medals from exhibitions in Vienna and Chicago, as well as the prestigious Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal from Viceroy Lord Curzon. 
• Varma’s realistic style and innovative use of lithographic reproduction made his paintings accessible to a wide audience and cemented his legacy as a pioneering figure in Indian art.

China Built Submarine for Pakistan

In News: China has launched the first of eight advanced Hangor-class submarines being developed for Pakistan.

• The improvement comes as part of the settlement between Pakistan and China under which the latter had agreed to offer the previous with eight modern day advanced submarines.
• Out of the whole 8 vessels, four are to be constructed with the aid of WSIG, at the same time as the remaining four are being built at KS&EW (Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works) underneath the Transfer of Technology (ToT) settlement.
• The submarines, having superior stealth features, are to be geared up with modern weapons and sensors to perform under a multi-threat environment and can engage targets at stand-off ranges.
• Pakistan enjoys close military ties with China with their bilateral members of the family provisioning numerous arms imports through Pakistan.

Fentanyl

In News: The US Secretary of State spoke about the production and export of “synthetic opioid precursors”, particularly the drug fentanyl during his recent visit to China.

• Fentanyl is a robust synthetic opioid drug authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to be used as an analgesic (for pain comfort) and anesthetic. 
• It is about one hundred times stronger than morphine and 50 instances stronger than heroin as an analgesic.
• The overdoses of it can cause “stupor, modifications in student size, clammy pores and skin, cyanosis (blue pores and skin), coma, and respiration failure leading to death”.

Phi-3-mini

In News: Microsoft has recently unveiled the latest version of its ‘lightweight’ AI model – the Phi-3-Mini. 

• It is the smallest AI model evolved by Microsoft. It is thought to be the first in a series of 3 smaller fashions deliberate by Microsoft.
• It reportedly outperformed models of the same size and the next size up across a variety of benchmarks, in areas like language, reasoning, coding, and maths.
  • Essentially, language models are the spine of AI programs like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and so on.
  • These models are educated on current records to solve common language problems such as textual content category, answering questions, textual content technology, file summarisation, etc.

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