A rather dry subject; investigating the study of arid-associated microbial communities

Almost one third of Earth’s land surface is arid, with deserts alone covering more than 46 million square kilometres. Nearly 2.1 billion people inhabit deserts or drylands and these regions are also home to a great diversity of plant and animal species including many that are unique to them. Aridity is a multifaceted environmental stress combining a lack of water with limited food availability and typically extremes of temperature, impacting animal species across the planet from polar cold valleys, to Andean deserts and the Sahara. These harsh environments are also home to diverse microbial communities, demonstrating the ability of bacteria, fungi and archaea to settle and live in some of the toughest locations known. We now understand that these microbial ecosystems i.e. microbiotas, the sum total of microbial life across and within an environment, interact across both the environment, and the macroscopic organisms residing in these arid environments. Although multiple studies have explored these microbial communities in different arid environments, few studies have examined the microbiota of animals which are themselves arid-adapted. Here we aim to review the interactions between arid environments and the microbial communities which inhabit them, covering hot and cold deserts, the challenges these environments pose and some issues arising from limitations in the field. We also consider the work carried out on arid-adapted animal microbiotas, to investigate if any shared patterns or trends exist, whether between organisms or between the animals and the wider arid environment microbial communities. We determine if there are any patterns across studies potentially demonstrating a general impact of aridity on animal-associated microbiomes or benefits from aridity-adapted microbiomes for animals. In the context of increasing desertification and climate change it is important to understand the connections between the three pillars of microbiome, host genome and environment.

Chronic rhinosinusitis - clinico microbiological profile: a review

The inhaled air at extremes of temperature or sometimes laden with animate aero-pathogens or maybe inanimate aero-allergens, induces a mechanical, thermal or infective trauma respectively, on the nasal and the sinus mucosa. The rhino-sinusitis acute or chronic has multiple underlying aetiologies and presentations. The aetiological factors and primarily the microorganisms show a shift with time. Viruses, aerobic and anerobic bacteria are cultured in individuals with varying levels of immunity.

Extremophile – An Adaptive Strategy for Extreme Conditions and Applications

The concurrence of microorganisms in niches that are hostile like extremes of temperature, pH, salt concentration and high pressure depends upon novel molecular mechanisms to enhance the stability of their proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and cell membranes. The structural, physiological and genomic features of extremophiles that make them capable of withstanding extremely selective environmental conditions are particularly fascinating. Highly stable enzymes exhibiting several industrial and biotechnological properties are being isolated and purified from these extremophiles. Successful gene cloning of the purified extremozymes in the mesophilic hosts has already been done. Various extremozymes such as amylase, lipase, xylanase, cellulase and protease from thermophiles, halothermophiles and psychrophiles are of industrial interests due to their enhanced stability at forbidding conditions. In this review, we made an attempt to point out the unique features of extremophiles, particularly thermophiles and psychrophiles, at the structural, genomic and proteomic levels, which allow for functionality at harsh conditions focusing on the temperature tolerance by them.

Acute medical presentations

This chapter provides concise details of the clinical features, immediate management, key investigations, and further management of all of the common acute medical presentations. Other scales, charts, and reference tables are also provided where relevant. These emergency presentations are clearly organized in the following sections: cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, metabolic and endocrine, neurological, infectious diseases, psychiatric, and ‘other’ (disseminated intravascular coagulation, extremes of temperature, and sickle cell crises). Links throughout the chapter also point back into the detailed discussion of each relevant presentation that the Oxford Textbook of Medicine provides.

Summer

Chapter 22 provides a detailed analysis of the long weather record at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford for summer. Averages and extremes of temperature, precipitation and sunshine are presented, with coverage relevant to the month or season including the incidence of snowfall, thunderstorms, gales and the like, illustrated by contemporary accounts and photography. Each chapter ends with a complete time series of the mean temperature, total precipitation and total sunshine for the month or season from the entire record, updated to 2018.

Spring

Chapter 21 provides a detailed analysis of the long weather record at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford for spring. Averages and extremes of temperature, precipitation and sunshine are presented, with coverage relevant to the month or season including the incidence of snowfall, thunderstorms, gales and the like, illustrated by contemporary accounts and photography. Each chapter ends with a complete time series of the mean temperature, total precipitation and total sunshine for the month or season from the entire record, updated to 2018.

October

Chapter 16 provides a detailed analysis of the long weather record at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford for October. Averages and extremes of temperature, precipitation and sunshine are presented, with coverage relevant to the month or season including the incidence of snowfall, thunderstorms, gales and the like, illustrated by contemporary accounts and photography. Each chapter ends with a complete time series of the mean temperature, total precipitation and total sunshine for the month or season from the entire record, updated to 2018.

June

Chapter 12 provides a detailed analysis of the long weather record at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford for June. Averages and extremes of temperature, precipitation and sunshine are presented, with coverage relevant to the month or season including the incidence of snowfall, thunderstorms, gales and the like, illustrated by contemporary accounts and photography. Each chapter ends with a complete time series of the mean temperature, total precipitation and total sunshine for the month or season from the entire record, updated to 2018.