cal Journal.Background The rate of female medicolegal deaths (MLD) due to homicides and road traffic accidents (RTAs) is the highest in Africa, compared to the rest of the world, though there is scanty literature locally on this subject. Materials and Methods The major sources of information reviewed in this study were the autopsy registers and autopsy reports of the police clinic, Benin City, Edo State, over 10 years. Results A total of 331 female medicolegal autopsies were performed, accounting for 21.8% of all cases. The mean age of cases was 40.11 ± 20.25. Age group of 30-39 years accounted for 22.1% (n = 73) of cases, closely followed by the age group of 20-29 years, which accounted for 20.5% (n = 68) of cases. Accidental deaths accounted for 36.9% (n = 122) of cases. RTA was the most common cause of accidental deaths (n = 105; 86%). The most common pattern of RTA was a vehicle knocking down a pedestrian as seen in 45 cases (42.9%). The most common age group involved in RTA was 20-29 years (n = 23; 22%). For homicides, shotguns were mainly used (n = 31; 31.6%), distantly followed by those caused by the use of sharp objects (n = 17; 17.3%) and most cases belonged to the age groups of 40-49 years and 30-39 years (21.5% and 19.5%, respectively). In 5 (71.4%) cases, hanging was the method of choice for suicide. A majority of suicide victims (n = 4; 57.1%) were aged between 30 and 39 years, with an average age of 36.3. Diseases of the cardiovascular system accounted for 41.8% (n = 41) of cases, whereas pregnancy-associated deaths (excluding criminal abortions) accounted for 29.6% (n = 29) of cases in the natural causes group. Preeclampsia/eclampsia (n = 9; 31%) followed by postpartum hemorrhage (n = 8; 27.6%) were the leading causes of maternal deaths. Conclusion There is a need to provide basic infrastructure, formulate policies, and implement them, to reduce female MLD, which a significant number of them are preventable. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Background The Sustainable Development Goal 4 ensures that all children have an inclusive and equitable quality education. However, uncorrected refractive errors (UREs) have been a major cause of limitations with regard to quality education as vision plays a vital role in child learning and development. Thus, any problem affecting the child’s vision could adversely affect the quality of the child’s education. Aims The aim of this research was to assess the quality of education of the children with URE in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Methods A cross-sectional survey of schoolchildren in four randomly selected primary schools within Sokoto metropolis was carried out from July 2016 to October 2016 using the illiterate „E” chart and a pinhole. Relevant history and basic ocular examinations were done using a multistage sampling technique. Statistical Analysis Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) version 20. Results A total of 113 students were surveyed; 56 (49.6%) males and 57 (50.4%) females. The age range was between 5 and 15 years, and the mean age was 10.89 ± 2.27 years. The prevalence of URE was 9.7%, with more than half of the students within the age group of 10-12 years (P = 0.018) and more common in females (54.5%) than males (45.5%) (P = 0.775). More than 90% of the respondents had never had a prior eye examination. The average mean academic performance of the pupils with URE (49.54% ±10.49%) was statistically significantly lower than those without refractive error (71.08 ± 10.09), mean difference = 21.55 (95% confidence interval, 15.18-27.92) (t = 6.70, P = 0.000). Conclusions The negative implications of URE on the quality of education and other socioeconomic aspects of life underscore the need to increase efforts on its screening and increase other relevant interventional measures. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Introduction Hemodialysis (HD) is a common modality of renal replacement therapy in Nigeria. Despite its usefulness, it may have complications such as intra-dialytic hypotension (IDH) and intra-dialytic hypertension (IDHTN), both of which may impact negatively on the patient. The aim of the study was to examine blood pressure (BP) changes during HD, to determine the frequency of IDH and IDHTN in patients undergoing HD, and to possibly identify associated factors. Materials and Methods The study design was a retrospective review of records of patients who had HD in the Rainbow Dialysis Center, a foremost private dialysis center in Bayelsa State. The records of all adults who had HD in the center from June 2014 to June 2018 were reviewed. Data retrieved include sociodemographics, type and cause of renal disease, and clinical and laboratory parameters such as BPs, packed cell volume, urea, and creatinine. Statistical Analysis Used Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20.0. Data were presented in tabular forms. Variables were expressed as mean with standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages. The means were compared using Student’s t-test or analysis of variance where appropriate. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions. Statistical significance was set at P 0.05). Older age was positively and significantly associated with IDHTN (P = 0.047). Conclusions IDH and IDHTN were prevalent among the patients studied, with the latter being slightly more likely to occur with advancing age. There is a need for adequate BP monitoring and management during HD. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Background There is increasing interest to develop antimicrobial aids from alternative sources such as medicinal plants for the treatment of infectious diseases. Neem and clove are known to have antimicrobial properties. Aim The study aimed at detecting the antibacterial and antifungal activity of neem and clove extract against Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Materials and Methods Strains of S. mutans and C. albicans and selective media for growing micro-organisms were procured. Antimicrobial activity was assessed using two methods, by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the broth dilution method and determining the zone of inhibition using well diffusion method on mitis salivarius bacitracin selective for S. mutans and Saboraud’s dextrose agar plates for C. albicans. One way ANOVA with post hoc analysis was done to compare the antimicrobial activity of extracts and 0.2% chlorhexidine. Results MIC of neem extract was found to be 4.2 mg/ml and 5.0 mg/ml against S. mutans and C. albicans, respectively. While for cloves, it was 5.5 mg/ml for both. Neem had the highest antibacterial activity with a mean zone of inhibition of 11.4 mm followed by chlorhexidine and cloves whereas antifungal activity was highest for chlorhexidine (14.4 mm) followed by neem and clove. Conclusion The result of the study established that both plant extracts possess antimicrobial activity against common microbes present in the oral cavity. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Introduction Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant epithelial neoplasm arising in the nasopharyngeal mucosa that shows light microscopic and/or ultrastructural evidence of squamous differentiation. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) can be used to reliably distinguish undifferentiated NPC from other malignant tumors, and the technique may be a necessary tool toward the arrival of a definitive diagnosis, particularly when dealing with challenging cases. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study which was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital. The study involved 120 patients with NPC who were diagnosed on histopathological basis between 2009 and 2013. Results The sensitivity and specificity of hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain in diagnosing NPC were 99% and 30.4%, respectively. The accuracy of H and E stain to diagnose NPC and lymphoma was 94.2% and 30.4%, respectively. CD45 antibody helped to confirm 16 cases which were diagnosed as NPC on H and E stain to be lymphoma. Further, AE1/AE3 antibody helped to confirm one case who was diagnosed as rhabdomyosarcoma on H and E stain to be NPC. Conclusions The sensitivity and accuracy of H and E stains to diagnose NPC were very high whereas the specificity was very low. A significant proportion of previously diagnosed NPC cases by routine H and E stains were confirmed not to be so by a minimal IHC antibody panel of pan-cytokeratin cocktail (AE1/AE3) and leukocyte common antigen (CD45). This highlights the paramount importance of a minimum IHC panel in assisting to obtain a definitive diagnosis in challenging cases of NPC. Copyright © 2020 Nigerian Medical Journal.Galactan exopolysaccharide (EPS) was extracted from Weissella confusa KR780676 isolated from idli batter. The present study reports the effect of galactan EPS concentration, pH, ionic strength, temperature, salinity, monovalent salts on the emulsion formed with vegetable oils (virgin coconut oil, groundnut oil, olive oil and mustard oil). Emulsion determination test revealed the oil-in-water type of emulsion. Microscopic observation showed the phase of oil droplet distribution of emulsions. Groundnut and olive oil showed significant emulsifying activity (50-60%) and stability (90%) irrespective of the EPS concentration. One percent of EPS also showed good emulsifying activity (50-70%) and stability (100%) with groundnut and olive oil in wide range of temperature (- 20, 4, 30, 40, 50 and 60 °C), pH (3-8), salinity (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30% of NaCl) and monovalent salt (1, 5, 10, 20 and 30% of KCl). Galactan could be used as a prominent emulsifier for applications in the food industry as it possesses significant activity with most of the influential factors in wide range and also obtained from lactic acid bacteria that are regarded as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS). © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.The application of high-voltage electrostatic field (HVEF) is a novel method of thawing. To determine if HVEF thawing could lead to sarcoplasmic proteins denaturation, and to provide a theoretical estimation of the structure of the sarcoplasmic proteins, pork tenderloin was thawed by traditional and HVEF methods. The results from protein solubility analysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimeter showed that HVEF thawing did not result in more protein denaturation than those thawed under air or running water. From the principal component analysis of FTIR raw spectra (1700-1600 cm-1, Amide I region), we observed some separations of samples with different thawing treatments. It was found that the proportions of α-helix (1650-1640 cm-1 spectral bands in the original data) could lead to the differences on the PC2 axis of score plots. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.The effect of pectinolytic enzyme preparation (PEP) produced by the fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae-N31 (PEP-N31) on total phenolic content, concentrations of methanol and color of grape juice was studied. Positive results were found when PEP-N31 was used to extract phenolic compounds after the grapes had been blanched for 3 min and macerated for 1 h. The resulting juice had better yield, color characteristics and higher phenolic content (1637.21 mg.L-1, as gallic acid equivalent, or GAE) than the conventionally prepared juice (1422.59 mg GAE.L-1), and it was very similar to the juice obtained through the treatment with a commercial enzyme (1682.10 mg GAE.L-1). The concentration of methanol in the juice produced with the PEP-N31 was less than 200 mg.L-1. These results encourage the use of PEP produced by Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae-N31 by the grape-processing industry. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.