Reply to: Cadaverless anatomy: Darkness in the times of pandemic Covid-19

Google Trends as a predictive tool in the era of COVID-19: a scoping review

Google Trends has been extensively used in different sectors from finance to tourism, the economy, fashion, the fun industry, the oil trade, and healthcare. This scoping review aims to summarize the role of Google Trends as a monitoring and a predicting tool in the COVID-19 pandemic. Inclusion criteria for this scoping review were original English-language peer-reviewed research articles on the COVID-19 pandemic conducted in 2020 using Google Trends as a search tool. Articles that were in a language other than English, were only in abstract form, or did not discuss the role of Google Trends during the COVID-19 pandemic were excluded. According to these criteria, a total of 81 studies were included to cover the period of the first year after the emergence of the crisis. Google Trends can potentially help health authorities to plan and control pandemics earlier and to decrease the risk of infection among people.

Creating an inexpensive yet effective downdraft table for a gross anatomy laboratory: Proof-of-concept

The expense of creating exhaust ventilation in a gross anatomy laboratory can be an impediment to gross anatomical education, especially in locations with little availability of funds (e.g., developing countries). Thus, the need for inexpensive yet effective exhaust ventilation is important for gross anatomical education. This study details the creation of a downdraft ventilation table that cost less than 200 USD to build, was built with commonly available materials (i.e., lumber, tarps, rebar, corrugated steel, staples, and screws), was built by one person with little difficulty in a matter of hours, was relatively light weight (75.2kg fully-assembled), and was easy to transport. Further, the table was structurally sound and handled a load of at least 331kg without damage. The table was affixed to a simple local exhaust ventilation system that cost ∼300 USD and generated an exhaust flow of 3099m³/h from the table. The table was capable of removing all airborne formaldehyde (0.00ppm) despite a pool of 100% formalin placed 20.3cm above the table. Furthermore, the height of the table could easily be adapted for handicapped accessibility and for individuals who are shorter or taller than average. The downdraft system also has applications beyond the gross anatomy laboratory (e.g., exhaust ventilation for embalming, manufacturing, and clinical/surgical aerosol-generating procedures). This report represents a proof-of-concept: a downdraft table that costs less than 200 USD can be built easily and paired effectively with an inexpensive local exhaust ventilation system at a total expense of approximately 500 USD. This report marks an improvement in gross anatomy laboratory safety and accessibility.