Thermophiles are the microorganisms that live and grow in extremely hot environment that would kill most other microorganisms. The present study was conducted to isolate eight thermophilic bacteria from hot spring and its nearby water source at Sita kund, Munger, India and designated HP1, HP2, HP3, HP4, K1, K2, K3 and K4. The isolated bacteria showed their optimum growth at pH 6.8 and grew maximally at 55°C temperature. Isolated bacteria were mostly Gram negative. All samples were ampicillin resistant showing that they had modified the ampicillin binding proteins involved in cell synthesis. The enzymes from microbial sources are more stable and obtained cheaply. Amylases are among the most important enzymes and are of great significance in present day industry. The bacterial sample HP2, K1, K3 and K4 showed amylase production on starch agar plate. Among the four bacterial samples, K4 showed maximum amylase production as compared to others thus encouraging future studies to explore further its industrial and environmental applications. Further molecular study is required for identification and taxonomic characterization of strains.

The present study comprises the seasonal variability of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) namely; benzene, toluene and xylene in the ambient air of Agra during summer and winter, 2015-2016. The mean levels of VOCs in ambient air during weekdays and weekends were also calculated. Furthermore, Propylene Equivalent Concentration (PEC) has been calculated to find out the VOCs reactivity toward ozone formation. Further, the relationships of VOCs with meteorological parameters (relative humidity and wind speed) have been estimated. The concentrations of all VOCs were found to be higher during winter as compared to summer could be due to high stability and low planetary boundary layer in the winter. After comparing the mean levels of VOCs during weekdays-weekends, it is observed that the studied VOCs were higher during weekdays and weekends during summer and winter, respectively. The values of PEC were observed to be higher during winter in contrast to summer. It is reported that xylene and toluene contributed the most among studied VOCs in ozone formation during summer and winter, respectively. After identifying the association between VOCs and relative humidity, weak to moderate negative correlation were observed during studied season.