The development and implementation of a low-cost mechanical ventilator in a low-middle-income country during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Unisabana-HERONS.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America generated the need to develop low-cost, fast-manufacturing mechanical ventilators. The Universidad de La Sabana and the Fundacion Neumologica Colombiana designed and manufactured the Unisabana-HERONS (USH) ventilator. Here, we present the preclinical and clinical study results to evaluate its effectiveness and safety characteristics in an animal model (Yorkshire Sow) and five patients with acute respiratory failure receiving mechanical ventilatory support for 24 h. Methods: The effectiveness and safety outcomes included maintaining arterial blood gases and pulse oximetry saturation (SpO2), respiratory pressures and volumes (during continuous monitoring) in the range of ARDS and lung-protective strategy goals, and the occurrence of barotrauma. A significance level of 0.05 was used for statistical tests. This clinical trial was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04497623) and approved by the ethics committee. Results: Among patients treated with the Unisabana-HERONS, the most frequent causes of acute respiratory failure were pneumonia in 3/5 (60 %) and ARDS in 2/5 (40 %). During the treatment, the ventilatory parameters related to lung protection protocols were kept within the safety range, and vital signs and blood gas were stable. The percentage of time that the respiratory pressures or volumes were out of safety range were plateau pressure >30 cm H2O: 0.00 %; driving pressure >15 cm H2O: 0.06 %; mechanical power >15 J/min: 0.00 %; and Tidal volume >8 mL/kg: 0.00 %. There were no adverse events related to the ventilator. The usability questionnaire retrieved a median score for all items between 9 and 10 (best score: 10), indicating great ease of use. Conclusion: The Unisabana-HERONS ventilator effectively provided adequate gas exchange and maintained the ventilatory parameters in the range of lung protection strategies in humans and an animal model. Furthermore, it is straightforward to use and is a low-cost medical device.

Catalytic Leverage of Correlations and Mitigation of Dissipation in Information Erasure.

Correlations are a valuable resource for quantum information processing and quantum thermodynamics. However, the preparation of some correlated states can carry a substantial cost that should be compared against its value. We show that classical correlations generated in information erasure can be catalytically exploited, which enables us to mitigate the resulting dissipation of heat and entropy. Because these correlations are a byproduct of erasure, they can be considered free. Our framework consists of a composition of two transformations, where an initial erasure transformation is followed by a catalytic mitigation of dissipation. Although we also show that maximum erasure with minimum dissipation and no correlations is theoretically possible, catalysts are always useful in practical erasure settings, where correlations are expected to take place.

Cu(Nor)2·5H2O, a complex of Cu(II) with Norfloxacin: theoretic approach and biological studies. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in cell cultures.

Norfloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used in the treatment of bacterial infections. In this article, we studied the potential antitumoral action of a complex of Norfloxacin with Cu(II), Cu(Nor)(2)·5H(2)O on osteosarcoma cells (UMR106) and calvaria-derived cells (MC3T3-E1), evaluating its cytotoxicity and genitoxicity. We have also elucidated the more stable conformation of this complex under physiologic conditions by Molecular Dynamic simulations based on the model of the canonical ensemble and PM6 force field. When solvent effect was taken into account, the complex conformation with both carbonyl groups in opposite sides displayed lower energy. Cu(Nor)(2)·5H(2)O caused an inhibitory effect on the proliferation on both cell lines from 300 µM (P < 0.01). Nevertheless, the decline on cell proliferation of UMR106 cells was more pronounced (45 % vs basal) than in MC3T3-E1 cells (20 % vs basal) at 300 µM (P < 0.01). Cu(Nor)(2)·5H(2)O altered lysosomal metabolism (Neutral Red assay) in a dose-dependent manner from 300 µM (P < 0.001). Morphological studies showed important transformations that correlated with a decrease in the number of cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, Cu(Nor)(2)·5H(2)O caused statistically significant genotoxic effects on both osteoblast cell lines in a lower range of concentrations (Micronucleus assay) (P < 0.05 at 10 µM, P < 0.001 from 25 to 50 µM). UMR106 cells displayed a dose-related genotoxic effect between 5 and 25 µM while the MC3T3-E1 cells showed a narrower concentration dependent range. Altogether, these results suggest that Cu(Nor)(2)·5H(2)O is a good candidate to be further evaluated for alternative therapeutics in cancer treatment.