Penetration of electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones into human skin and blood was studied. The transmitted waves from these mobile phones were exposed to the human body and were penetrated into the body where field was reduced exponentially with depth. As the reduction in field was due to absorption of power, specific absorption rate was calculated and compared with permissible limit given by International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and World Health Organization (WHO). It was found that the specific absorption rate values were above the limit at distances 1 to 15 cm from the body, frequencies 800, 900, 1800 and 2450 MHz and effective radiated power of 2 Watts.

To determine the nature of the neonatal dermatological problems at Hamdard University Hospital Descriptive (Observational) cross sectional study. This study was conducted from January 2008 to December 2008 All children under the age of 28 days, with dermatological problems visiting either Pediatric or Dermatology ward/OPD/ Emergency of Hamdard University Hospital were included in the study, these cases were seen by pediatricians & confirmed by the dermatologist. The history was followed by a general physical and systemic examination and detailed skin examination. Relevant investigations were done including blood cultures. 77 cases below the age of 28 days (neonates) were seen during the study period, there were 26 cases of neonatal skin infections (33.76%), 13 cases of hereditary disorders (16.88%), 12 cases of nappy rash (15.58%), 10 cases of erythema toxicum neonatorum 9.8%), 8 cases of milia (10,38%) and 4 cases of erythema following phototherapy (5.19%). Pediatric dermatology deserves to be treated as a separate subspecialty requiring proper training. The close liaison between the pediatrician and the dermatologist will help in early prevention and treatment.

Cadmium (Cd) is reported to cause harmful effects on organs such as kidneys, lungs, bones, liver and testes. But, the kidneys are the major target organs of Cd action. At sub-chronic exposure of CdCl2 dose (LD50 88mg kg-1), the metal accumulates in the renal cortex and results in the malfunctioning of the kidneys. We report here the effect of Cd intake in Rattus rattus of 0.6mg /kg b.wt/day of CdCl2 on rat at subchronic level. Our findings demonstrate that a regular oral intake of CdCl2 solution (in drinking water) for 30 days causes severe damage to rat kidneys. At this exposure of CdCl2, cortex region is most affected whereas glomeruli as well as proximal tubules showed wall thickening. Cytosolic damaged bodies were also observed in the renal tubular epithelium. Since in Cd-treated rats proximal tubules in renal cortex were more heavily stained that suggesting increased protein contents in the cells. No such changes were observed in control group, which were fed with normal tap water. It is concluded that even at the high dose selected here, the extent of damage to kidneys of rat is limited.

It is crucial to understand factors which delay the commencement of aural habilitation in children. Alleviating the factors will help reducing the delay to an extent in a developing country like India where universal newborn hearing screening programs is yet to begin at a national level. The present study aims to find age of suspicion, identification and intervention availed for children with hearing loss who approached hearing evaluation camps conducted in rural West Bengal. Data was obtained from evaluation of 209 children with moderately severe to profound degree of hearing impairment, present with a complaint of not being able to speak and hear. The family members, mostly mothers, suspected hearing loss in the child at a mean age of 1.5 years when the children did not respond to name-call, clap and vehicle horns. However the parents consulted any doctor primarily a specialist by an average age of 2.4 years. As many as 21% of the doctors during the first visit assured the parents not to worry as the child would learn language with age and only 33.4 % were referred for aural rehabilitation. The average age at which children were brought to an audiologist for the first time was 9.3 years yet 95% of parents did not perceive delay in the initiation of aural rehabilitation. Children with mild to moderate degree of hearing loss and with unilateral hearing loss who account for 40% of the childhood hearing loss do not attend even rural camps. Factors like child rearing practices, ignorance about the importance of intact hearing sensitivity and critical age for speech development along with lack of aural rehabilitation services contributed to the delay in identification and habilitation.

The clinical presentation of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is somewhat varied. Here we report a 14 year old patient who had been followed for iron and zinc deficiency anemia since 1 year old and who did not respond to several regimes of iron and zinc therapy. He was diagnosed with MNGIE when he had developed opthalmoplegia at 14 years of age. In contrast with a diffuse leukoencephalymyopathy generally seen in MNGIE patients, cranial MRI showed that the leukoencephalopathy was localized mainly to the frontal lobes of the patient at his first admission.

Postdiskectomy vascular complications are well known. Immediate postoperative vascular complications are diagnosed promptly and treated successfully in most cases. Postdiskectomy arteriovenous fistula occurs due to perforation of the anterior longitudinal ligament with injury to adjacent vessels like aorta, iliac vein, iliac artery or inferior vena cava, iliac vein being the most commonly involved vascular structure. In most patients, overt signs and symptoms of postdiskectomy fistula are not apparent until many years after injury usually presenting as high output failure. Although catheter angiography has been the gold standard for diagnosis, CT angiography with 64 slice CT gives’ spectacular’ 3 dimensional and multiplanar demonstration of the fistula, making direct angiography unnecessary.

Interrupted aortic arch (IAA) is a rare and usually lethal congenital malformation. Without previous surgical intervention to reach adult age is very rare in patients with complete IAA. The present report describes a 70-year-old hyptertensive women who was incidentally diagnosed to have IAA and aortic stenosis. Aortography showed a complete IAA below the origin of left subclavian artery and gadolinium contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiogram (1.5 T scanners) clearly reaffirmed a complete interruption of the arcus aorta, with markedly developed collateral circulation.

Atrophic rhinitis or ozena is a chronic nasal disease characterized by progressive atrophy of the nasal mucosa and underlying bone, accompanied by the formation of foul smelling, thick, dry crusts in the greatly enlarged nasal cavities. Although the incidence of ozena is greatly diminished, it is still encountered rarely. The etiology of ozena still remains enigmatic but hereditary, infectious, developmental, endocrine and nutritional factors have been implicated. We describe two patients with endoscopical, clinical evidence and computed tomography findings of atrophic rhinitis along with a review of the current literature.

Primary venous aneurysm is a rare vascular abnormality that can occur throughout the venous system. We report a proximal greater saphenous vein aneurysm in a twenty one-year old male. A venous duplex ultrasonographic examination showed a fusiform venous aneurysm (5 cm in diameter) of the proximal greater saphenous vein containing occluding thrombus adherent to its wall and extending to saphenofemoral junction. Operation was performed due to apparent symptoms and the potential risk for thromboembolic complications. Aneurysm was exposed through a vertical left femoral incision. It was totally filled with thrombi. Histopathological examination of the aneurysmal wall demonstrated fibrocellular thickening with irregular vascular proliferation with multiple reduplications of internal elastic lamina. Because of the risk of thromboembolism, saphenous vein aneurysm containing occluding thrombus extending to saphenofemoral junction should be treated surgically.

Renal manifestation of Kawasaki disease is not frequently described. A four-year-old boy was referred to our institute with acute renal failure for dialysis. Detailed history coupled with physical examination revealed telltale symptom complex of Kawasaki Disease. We diagnosed the case to be Kawasaki Disease complicated by Acute Renal Failure at presentation. The patient recovered with supportive measures alone without requiring renal replacement therapy. Acute renal failure is a rare accompaniment of Kawasaki Disease as presenting manifestation.

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and congenital lobar emphysema are rare embryonic congenital disorders of lung. We report seven such cases of congenital cystic pulmonary disorders out of which, four cases were of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and three cases of congenital lobar emphysema. All cases presented with recurrent or persistent pulmonary infection and pneumothorax. These cases had been masquerading as pneumonia and/ or its complication and were treated for it for a variable period of time before being diagnosed as congenital lung malformation after appropriate investigations. We discuss here these rare cases.

Beta–thalassemia minor is a symptomless carrier state of a hemoglobinopathy which predisposes to bacterial infections. We report three cases presenting with giardiasis, a parasitic infection of gastrointestinal tract caused by Giardia lamblia. Patients presented with recurrent diarrhea and abdominal pain for over a year. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy finding varied from normal to acute duodenitis. Duodenal biopsy demonstrated changes consistent with mild chronic non-specific inflammation with G. lamblia trophozoites. All three patients were diagnosed as ß -thalassemia minor hemoglobin electrophoresis. They were treated with Diloxanide furoate 500 mg and Metronidazole 400mg three times daily for five days. Their symptoms resolved and a stool test repeated one week after the end of treatment was normal. The host immune system both humoral and cellular components have a role in protection and clearance of Giardiasis. However, ß -thalassemia minor patients have an observed probability of gardiasis but not a confirmed incidence.