Nitric Oxide

• Recently, a multinational collaboration has announced the results of phase 2 clinical trials indicating that a nitric oxide nasal spray can be an effective viral treatment.
• The researchers evaluated nitric oxide’s vitro antiviral effect on SARS-CoV-2 replication and published their findings in September 2020.
• It has been developed by a Vancouver-based biotech firm, SaNOtize Research and Development Corporations.
• The spray releases a small, topical amount of nitric oxide that is well known to kill viruses including SARS-CoV-2, It is non-specific and thus kills any virus.
• The patients treated with the spray saw an average reduction of around 95% in viral load in the first 24 hours, and more than 99% within 72 hours.
• The self-administered nasal spray releases a small topical amount of nitric oxide and aims to kill the virus in the upper airways, preventing it from incubating and making its way to the lungs.
• The World Health Organization has yet to give an emergency use authorisation (EUA).

Oxygen Concentrator

• Atmospheric air has about 78 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen, with other gases making up the remaining 1 per cent.
• The oxygen concentrator takes in this air, filters it through a sieve, releases the nitrogen back into the air, and works on the remaining oxygen.
• This oxygen, compressed and dispensed through a cannula, is 90-95 per cent pure.
• A pressure valve in concentrators helps regulate supply, ranging from 1-10 litres per minute.
• While it is not as pure as Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) (99%), experts say it is good enough for mild and moderate Covid-19 patients with oxygen saturation levels of 85% or above. It is, however, not advisable for ICU patients.
• Oxygen concentrators are the easiest alternatives to cylinders but can only supply 5-10 litres of oxygen per minute (critical patients may need 40-50 litres per minute) and are best suited for moderately ill patients.
• Concentrators are portable and unlike LMO that needs to be stored and transported in cryogenic tankers, need no special temperature.
• And unlike cylinders that require refilling, concentrators only need a power source to draw in ambient air.
• Concentrators are more expensive than cylinders, it’s largely a one-time investment.
• Apart from electricity and routine maintenance, there’s little by way of operational cost, unlike cylinders that involve refilling costs and transportation.

ND-GAIN Index

• ND-GAIN is part of the Climate Change Adaptation Program of the University of Notre Dame's Environmental Change initiative (ND-ECI).
• The Country Index uses 20 years of data to rank more than 180 countries annually based on their vulnerability and, uniquely, how ready they are to adapt.
• Vulnerability is considered in six life-supporting sectors namely food, water, health, ecosystem service, human habitat and infrastructure.
• Overall readiness is measured by considering three components – economic readiness, governance readiness and social readiness.
• According to the scores for 2018, India ranked 122 and is the 48th most vulnerable country and the 70th least ready country.

E-2025 Initiative

• In 2017, WHO launched the E-2020 initiative to support a group of countries to achieve zero indigenous cases of malaria by 2020.
• Some 21 countries across five regions were identified as having the potential to reach the milestone of eliminating malaria.
• The report ‘Zeroing in on malaria elimination’ brings out the progress made through the E-2020 initiative of WHO.
• Building on the successes of the E-2020, WHO has identified a new group of 25 countries that have the potential to stamp out malaria within a 5-year timeline.
• The E-2025 countries will receive technical and on-the-ground support by WHO and its partners.
• In return, they are expected to audit their elimination programmes annually, participate in elimination forums, conduct surveillance assessments, and share malaria case data periodically.
• The new countries were selected based on four criteria:

1. The establishment of a government-endorsed elimination plan;
2. Meeting the threshold of malaria case reductions in recent years;
3. Having the capacity of malaria surveillance and a designated governmental agency responsible for malaria elimination; and
4. Being selected by the WHO Malaria Elimination Oversight Committee.

Tissue Chips

• It is a small device that contains human cells in a 3D matrix represents a giant leap in the ability of scientists to test how those cells respond to stresses, drugs and genetic changes.
• About the size of a thumb drive, the devices are known as tissue chips or organs on chips.
• Tissue Chips are small models of human organs that contain multiple cell types that behave similarly to the human body.
• According to NASA, these chips can potentially speed up the process of identifying safe and effective drugs and vaccines.
• Scientists can use these tissue chips in space to study diseases that affect specific human organs, which would take months or years to develop on Earth.

Crew-2 Mission

• It is the second crew rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with international partners.
• Out of the four astronauts, two are from NASA and two are from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
• Their central focus during this time will be to continue a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.