Mineralogical and sorption characterization of lateritic soils from Southwestern Nigeria for use as landfill liners.

Lateritic soils are prevalent in the tropical regions, and they are used for various construction purposes including landfill liner applications. However, their contaminant attenuation potentials through sorption and the influence of parent rocks on this property are poorly understood. This study investigates lateritic soils from southwestern Nigeria as barrier to leachate migration in engineered landfills and related waste containment facilities.

Antimicrobial activity of bark extracts of Bridelia ferruginea (Euphorbiaceae).

Water and ethanol extracts of Bridelia ferruginea were examined for phytochemical and antimicrobial properties. The extracts, which were tested at a final concentration of 5 mg/ml, produced in vitro antimicrobial activities in assays against hospital strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus lactis, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Klebsiella sp. The zones of inhibition produced by the extracts in agar diffusion assays against the test micro-organisms ranged from 4 to 20 mm, while the chloramphenicol antibiotic control produced zones that measured 15-36 mm.

Bactericidal properties of crude extracts of Mitracarpus villosus.

Mature leaves and inflorescence of Mitracarpus villosus, collected from Niger State, Nigeria, were shade dried over a period of 5 days, ground into fine particles in a Waring blender and extracted individually with hot distilled water and 95% ethanol. The crude extracts obtained were tested for their in vitro antibacterial activities using agar diffusion and tube dilution techniques. The extracts produced zones of inhibition (8-23 mm) against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus faecalis, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis were not inhibited.

Antifungal activities of crude extracts of Mitracarpus villosus (Rubiaceae).

Extracts of Mitracarpus villosus leaves and inflorescences were investigated individually for in vitro antifungal activities by agar-diffusion and tube-dilution techniques. Ethanolic extracts produced definite antifungal activities against Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum gypseum, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium solani. The aqueous extracts and the glycerol vehicle control did not inhibit any of the fungi tested.

Emotional changes in pregnancy and early puerperium among the Yoruba women of Nigeria.

A randomly selected clinic population of 400 pregnant women in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, were interviewed for complaints of psychological disorders during the last trimester of pregnancy and the post-partum period. The study shows a considerable degree of psychological disturbances during pregnancy which later decreased significantly during the post-partum. While the complaints of worrying, guilt-feeling, nausea and vomiting and "heat in-the-head", were significantly more common in younger women, insomnia and anorexia were more common in older women.