01-12-2020 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Patna : Since the formation of the new
government in Bihar, Director General of
Police (DGP) AK Singhal has suspended
four station house officers (SHOs) for their
alleged inability to implement the liquor
ban law in their respective jurisdictions.
A liquor ban is one of the most crucial
decisions taken by the Nitish Kumar government
and opposition parties had put
question marks over its the execution in the
run-up to the recently held assembly elections.
During a law and order review meeting
on Saturday, Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar directed the DGP to conduct a
probe against those SHOs who were unable
to prevent smuggling of liquor in their
ASIA
4 SHOs suspended in Bihar for
failing to implement liquor ban
respective jurisdictions. Bihar Police PRO
Abhay Singh confirmed the development.
He said that the decision was taken on the
basis of an investigation into prohibition by
the Bihar Police.
According to official sources, Ajay
Kumar, the SHO of Kakkarbagh police station
in Patna, was allegedly suspended by
the DGP. Recently, a huge cache of liquor
was seized in Ashok Nagar area.
Pankaj Kumar, SHO of Ganga Bridge,
was also suspended for being allegedly
unable to prevent makeshift country-made
liquor factories in Diyara area located on
the banks of the Ganga. Dinesh Kumar,
SHO of Ahiyapur in Muzaffarpur, has also
allegedly been suspended on similar
grounds. Avinash Chandra, the SHO of
Meenapur, was among those suspended on
the recommendation of the prohibition of
alcohol department. During the assembly
elections, a video of liquor and cash distribution
went viral in his jurisdiction. The
department has taken cognisance of the
matter and suspended him.
"All of them were suspended with
immediate effect and the department has
initiated a high-level inquiry to find out
other irregularities done by them in the
past," Singh said.
01-12-2020 to 15-12-2020
3
Nagaur MP to Amit Shah : Will
reconsider RLP's alliance with
NDA if farm bills not withdrawn
Jaipur : Nagaur
MP Hanuman
Beniwal on Monday
wrote a letter to
Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
in which he strongly
said that the
Rashtriya Loktantrik
Party (RLP) would
reconsider its
alliance with the NDA if the central government does not withdraw
the three farm bills.
Hanuman Beniwal, in his letter, said that he wants to draw
Union minister Amit Shah's attention to the ongoing farmers'
movement in protest against the recent agri-bills brought by the
central government.
"It is requested to take immediate action to withdraw the
bills." "Even during the severe winter and corona period, the
farmer is agitating on roads which is not good for governance,"
he said. The RLP is the NDA's ally at the Centre. Also in the
Rajasthan assembly polls, the BJP did not announce any candidate
from Nagaur and instead allowed the RLP to field its candidate,
extending its alliance with the BJP at the state level too.
Beniwal wrote that a proper space should be given to the agitating
farmers in Delhi where they can continue their dialogue
and demanded withdrawal of the three bills and the implementation
of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission
in the interest of farmers.
"The RLP will reconsider the alliance with the NDA if the
matter is not decided with quick effect as farmers and jawans are
the strength of RLP, he added.
New model to enable
drug predictions
against Covid-19
London : Researchers have developed a computational model
of a human lung cell which has been used to understand how
SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19 disease, uses the host
to survive, and to enable drug predictions for treating the virus.
Using a computer model of a human lung cell metabolism, the
study published in the journal Life Science Alliance, have captured
the stoichiometric amino and nucleic acid requirements of
SARS-CoV-2. Their model has identified host-based metabolic
perturbations inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 reproduction, highlighting
reactions in the central metabolism, as well as amino acid and
nucleotide biosynthesis pathways. In fact, researchers found that
only a few of these metabolic perturbations are able to selectively
inhibit virus reproduction.
"We have created a stoichiometric biomass function for the
Covid-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus and incorporated this into
a human lung cell genome-scale metabolic model," said study
author Orkun Soyer, from the University of Warwick in the UK.
"We then predicted reaction perturbations that can inhibit
SARS-CoV-2 reproduction in general or selectively, without
inhibiting the host metabolic maintenance," Soyer added.
The predicted reactions primarily fall onto glycolysis and
oxidative phosphorylation pathways, and their connections to
amino acid biosynthesis pathways. Together, these results highlight
the possibility of targeting host metabolism for inhibition of
SARS-CoV-2 reproduction in human cells in general and in
human lung cells specifically. "More research needs to be carried
out to explore SARS-CoV-2 infected cells and their metabolism,
however, the model developed here by the researchers can be
used as a starting point for testing out specific drug predictions,"
said author Hadrien Delattre.
Poor air quality can
up consequences of
Covid-19: Study
London : A new research adds to the
growing body of evidence that elevated
levels of air pollution may amplify the
waves of SARS-CoV-2 contamination, the
virus responsible for Covid-19 diseases.
The study, published in the journal Earth
Systems and Environment, investigated
possible interactions between acutely elevated
levels of fine particulate matter and
the virulence of the coronavirus disease.
The result suggests that high concentrations
of particles less than 2.5 micrometres
in size may modulate, or even amplify, the
waves of SARS-CoV-2 contamination and
explain in part the particular profile of the
Covid-19 pandemic. "The study provides
preventive measures related to air pollution
to limit future outbreaks of morbidity and
mortality due to the coronavirus," said
study author Mario Rohrer from the
University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Covid-19 studies conducted in Italy and
France suggest that SARS-CoV-2 was
already present in Europe at the end of
2019, while the sharp increase in morbidity
and mortality was only recorded in
spring 2020 in Paris and London.
"This time lag is surprising, but also
suggests that something else than just the
mere interaction of people may promote
the transmission of the virus, and particularly
the severity of the infection," Rohrer
said. The research team has been able to
show that these increases in cases followed
phases where the levels of fine particles in
the air were higher. The team made similar
observations in the Swiss canton of Ticino,
where fine-particle pollution increased
sharply during a period of shallow fog on
the Magadino plain and the Sotto Ceneri,
observed at the end of February 2020.
The findings showed that acute concentrations
of fine particles, especially those
smaller than 2.5 micrometres, cause
inflammation of the respiratory, pulmonary
and cardiovascular tracts and thicken the
blood. "In combination with a viral infection,
these inflammatory factors can lead to
a serious progression of the disease.
Inflammation also promotes the attachment
of the virus to cells," Rohrer said.
Nonetheless, the researchers also
emphasize that, although particulate matter
pollution can influence the virulence of the
virus and possible severe disease progression,
physiological, social or economic factors
will clearly also influence the further
course of the pandemic.
"This study offers the possibility of taking
preventive measures in the event of
future increases in fine particulate matter
concentrations, thus limiting a new flareup
of Covid-19 morbidity and mortality,"
the team noted.