Natural ventilation considerations for radon prone areas of Ramsar

In Iran, architectures are often unaware of the risk of radon inhalation and how to reduce radon levels. Furthermore, radon considerations are not implemented in construction methods, construction materials and building utilization by regulatory authorities. In this study after reviewing the meteorological changes of Ramsar over the past 50 years [1955-2005], a novel design for constructing dwellings in radon prone areas is introduced. Out of building interventions such as planting wind-tunnel-making trees will be discussed in another paper. Ramsar soil samples with 4 levels of specific activities [extremely hot, severely hot, very hot, and hot] were placed in a model house. Radon level monitoring was performed by using a PRASSI portable radon gas survey meter. For extremely hot soil samples, the radon levels inside the model house when windows were closed for 24 hours were 1615 +/- 516 Bq/m3. When windows which were in the wind direction or opposite the wind direction were opened for 24 h, the radon level decreased to 89 +/- 286 and 139 +/- 314 Bq/m3, respectively. Interestingly, when crossed windows were opened for the same duration, Radon level was 144 +/- 92 Bq/m3. In cold seasons, when windows are usually closed, Chimney effect reduced the radon level to 323 +/- 641. For severely hot, very hot and hot soil samples, natural ventilation-based interventions effectively reduced the radon level. Results obtained in this study clearly show that natural ventilation-based simple cost-effective interventions can significantly reduce the radon concentration in radon prone areas of Ramsar

Breast diseases: a histopathological analysis of 3279 cases at a tertiary care center in Pakistan

To know the frequency of breast diseases in Pakistani females. A retrospective analysis of 3279 breast specimens received over a period of 4 years [1993-1996] at the department of pathology, the Aga Khan University Hospital. Out of a total of 3279 breast specimens, common breast lesions included infiltrating duct carcinoma 37%, followed by fibro adenoma 16.95%, fibrocystic change13.96%, mastitis 6.83% and duct ectasia 5.33%. Majority of the cases of infiltrating duct carcinoma were encountered in the 5th and 6th decades of life. Tumour size was 2 or >2 cms. in 93% of cases and 40% of them showed 3 or >3 positive lymph nodes. Grade I tumours were 11.38%, grade II 59.17% and grade III tumours 29.47%. Correlation of grade with lymph node metastases [3 or >3+ve nodes] showed 15 cases [1.53%] of grade I, 178 cases [18.25%] of grade II and 68[6.97%] cases of grade III tumours. This study shows that in Pakistani females, the most commonly encountered lesion in carcinoma of the breast followed by the benign lesions such as fibro adenoma, fibrocystic disease and others. Breast carcinoma occurs at a younger age group with predominance of high-grade lesions and with frequent lymph node metastasis

Cystic fibrosis in UAE

Two confirmed cases of cystic fibrosis [CF] are reported. Both of them had a sibling who died with a history suggestive of CF. The four patients are true Ras Al Khaimah [RAK] UAE nationals. They belong to families coming from tribes long established in RAK. These are the first true UAE nationals reported with CF. Increased awareness of the presence of such a rare condition among UAE nationals, may help in establishing the true prevalence of CF in UAE, promote early diagnosis and lead to a better prognosis