SummaryInformation on the current prevalence and types of consanguineous marriages in Malakand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan, was collected from 1192 rural couples. Some 66.4% of marriages were between couples related as second cousins or closer (F≥0.0156), equivalent to a mean coefficient of inbreeding (α) of 0.0338. The data suggest that the prevalence of consanguineous unions in Malakand has been increasing during the last decade, in response to the high levels of violence across KPK.

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Acacia species are very important tree species in tropical and subtropical countries of the World for their economic and medicinal benefits. Precise identification of Acacia is very important to distinguish the invasive species from rare species however, it is difficult to differentiate Acacia species based on morphological charcters. In addition, precise identification is also important for wood charcterization in the forest industry as these species are declining due to illegal logging and deforestation. To overcome thsese limitations of morphological identification, DNA barcoding is being used as an efficient and quick approach for precise identification of tree species. In this study, we selected two chloroplast and plastid base DNA markers ( rbcL and matK ) for the identification of five selected tree species of Acacia (A. albida, A. ampliceps, A. catechu, A. coriacea and A. tortilis) . The genomic DNA of the selected Acacia species was extracted, amplified through PCR using specific primers and subsequently sequenced through Sanger sequencing. In matK DNA marker the average AT nucleotide contents were higher (59.46%) and GC contents were lower (40.44%) as compared to the AT (55.40%) and GC content (44.54%) in rbcL marker. The means genetic distance K2P between the Acacia species was higher in matK (0.704%) as compared to rbcL (0.230%). All Acacia species could be identified based on unique SNPs profile. Based on SNP data profiles, DNA sequence based scannable QR codes were developed for accurate identification of Acacia species. The phylogenetic analysis based on both markers ( rbcL and matK ) showed that both A. coriacea and A. tortilis were closely related with each other and clustered in the same group while other two species A. albida and A. catechu were grouped together. The specie A. ampliceps remained ungrouped distantly, compared with other four species. These finding highlights the potential of DNA barcoding for efficient and reproducible identification of Acacia species.

The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in schoolgoing children. Both Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia have considerable adverse effect on human health. Among the different negative health concerns, including stunt development, less developed immunity, lower IQ level, no proper physical work capacity, more fatigue, maternal mortality rates, young ones born with low birth weight, birth complications and infant mortality rates are some of the remarkable health concerns posed by iron deficiency level. Our study sample was consisting of 420 school age children of both genders. The blood samples were collected in EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) tubes from different school and health maternity centres by trained and veteran persons. Questionnaires were utilised for the data collection, at the time of blood samples collection. Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrite (Hct), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cell and red blood cell (RBC)were determine by automatic hematological analyzer model Symex Ks-21 having two reagents, cell pack and Stromatolyser-wwt 500 ml. The total percentage of anemia recorded in school age children was 34.0%. In tehsil Banda Daud Shah, the incidence of anemia was high up to 43.6% while in tehsil Takhti Nasrati and Karak was 32.1% and 26.4% respectively. The percentage was higher in girls (38.9%) than in boys (31.0%). The anemia percentage was recorded high (55.8%) in lower socioeconomic family children, than middle class (32.2%) and upper class (17%). The percentage of anemic children was also high (40%) in age group of 10 -12 years. Pale skin was the most common symptom of anemia.

Migraine is a common neurological disorder, prevalent in almost all over the world population and being considered as the 13 th major medical disorder among other major disorders across the globe, generally characterized with unilateral or bilateral headache, nausea and vomiting. In developing world, countries like Pakistan, most of the patients are not well aware of migraine headaches, as usually taken for simple headache due to no proper awareness. Usually it is not a contagious condition and most of the time it is recoded as episodic in nature. To assess the migraine, its frequency, symptoms, usual triggers and patients' perceptions, the present study was conducted. For this purpose a prospective study was carried out based on properly designed questionnaire. The data were collected from 7 educational institutes, including students of Islamia College Peshawar, University of Peshawar, Khyber Medical College, Engineering University Peshawar, Fatima Jinnah College Peshawar, Commerce College Peshawar and Agriculture University Peshawar. Part of data was also collected from patients visiting Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar for their headache problems. A total of 270 questionnaires were filled up. About 81 (30.00%) headache cases were recorded, fulfilling the International criteria of Headache. Out of 81 recorded cases, 31 (38.3%) patients were of migraine with aura and 50 (61.7%) were of migraine without aura condition. The prevalence of migraine in the study population was found to be 30.00%. The frequency of female migraine patients was higher i.e. 31 (34.1%) than the male sufferers 50 (27.9%). The present study clearly showed that the higher frequency (65.0%) of migraine exists in the age group of above 30 years age. The most prevalent trigger was found to be tension, which was in pa-* Corresponding author. M. Zahid et al. 509rallel followed by the lack of sleep or oversleeping. A family history for migraine was found in migraine patients. Usually the condition was found to limit the routine activities of patients. The present study recorded that most of the migraine patients (40.2%) did not visit doctors at hospital and preferably go for self-medication, which really needs a public awareness in order to properly cope this neurological disorder, which may pose future medical complications as well.

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Purpose: We studied the drug resistance of different microbes from clinical isolates. The morphological characteristics of bacteria were observed through culture characteristics and by carrying out gram staining techniques while the biochemical characteristics of bacteria were carried out by biochemical test. Methods: A total of 324 samples were collected from suspected patients visiting different hospitals at district Peshawar. For morphological identification, samples of clinical isolates were analyzed by blood agar, MacConkey agar and Eosine Methylene Blue, identified by gram staining and characterized by different biochemical tests. Antibiotic Sensitivity test by Modified Kirby-Bauer Disc diffusion method was used to test the in-vitro susceptibility of the identified isolates to different antibiotics such as Ceftazidime, Ceftazidime, Ceftriaxone, Cefepime and Imipenem. Results: These resistant non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacteria were isolated from samples of pus/wound (33.30%, n = 108/324), blood (33.30%, n = 108/324), urine (23.30%, n = 75/324) and from ascetic/pleural fluids (10.20%, n = 33/324). The study revealed that the percentage of non-fermenting bacterial infection was higher in females (53%) as compared to males (47%) along with higher infection observed in the age group of 11-30 years. Pseudomonas aeroginosa showed high resistance against Cefepime (88.80%), followed by Cefoperazone (55.50%), Ceftazidime (48.10%), Ceftriaxone (33.30%). Imipenem was active with low resistance (7.40%). More resistance was seen in Morganella morganii against Imipenem (66.70%) followed by Cefope-* Corresponding author. M. Akbar et al. 116 razone (55.50%), Ceftriaxone (55.50%). Cefepime showed low resistance (11%). Multi-drug resistant Proteus mirabillis was highly resistance to Ceftriaxone (74.07%), followed by Cefepime (59.20%), Cefoperazone (44.40%) and low resistance for Imipenem (25.90%). Salmonella typhi demonstrated high resistance against Imipenem (74.07%), followed by Ceftriaxone (40.70%), Ceftazidime (37.03%). Cefepime showed low resistance (3.70%), hence it is more active against S. typhi. Conclusions: The different species of non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacteria have shown a different resistivity pattern in the present study. Therefore identification of non-lactose fermenting gram negative bacteria and looking after their resistivity/susceptibility pattern are important for suitable management of the infections caused by them.