Bacillus nakamurai sp. nov., a black-pigment-producing strain.

Two isolates of a Gram-stain-positive, strictly aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium were identified during a survey of the Bacillus diversity of the Agriculture Research Service Culture Collection. These strains were originally isolated from soil and have a phenotype of producing a dark pigment on tryptic soy agar. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that these strains were related most closely to Bacillus subtilis subsp. inaquosorum (99.7 % similarity) and Bacillus axarquiensis (99.7 %). In phenotypic characterization, the novel strains were found to grow between 17 and 50 °C and can tolerate up to 9 % (w/v) NaCl. Furthermore, the strains grew in media of pH 5.5-10 (optimal growth at pH 7.0-8.0). The predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 (34.8 %) and iso-C15 : 0 (21.9 %). The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. A draft genome of both strains was completed. The DNA G+C content was 43.8 mol%. A phylogenomic analysis on the core genome of these two new strains and all members of the Bacillus subtilis group revealed these two strains formed a distinct monophyletic clade with the nearest neighbour Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. DNA-DNA relatedness studies using in silico DNA-DNA hybridizations showed the two strains were conspecific (93.8 %), while values with all other species (<31.5 %) were well below the species threshold of 70 %. Based on the consensus of phylogenetic and phenotypic analyses, these strains are considered to represent a novel species within the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus nakamurai sp. nov. is proposed, with type strain NRRL B-41091T (=CCUG 68786T).

Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy in obese patients.

PURPOSE: To report our experience with robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) in obese patients compared with a contemporary cohort of nonobese patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We defined obesity as a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2). From June 2004 to September 2009, 97 patients underwent RAPN at our institution, of whom 49 were obese (group 1) and 48 were nonobese (group 2, BMI <30 kg/m(2)). We compared demographics, operative data, complications, and pathological outcomes between these two groups. RESULTS: The average BMI for the obese group was 36.2 kg/m(2) (range 30.3-49) compared with 25.7 kg/m(2) (range 20.5-29.7) for the nonobese group. Median tumor size was 2.5 versus 2.3 cm for obese and nonobese groups, respectively. Obese patients had a larger median estimated blood loss (150 vs.100 mL, p=0.027) and a trend toward a longer median operative time (265 vs. 242.5 minutes, p=0.085) and median warm ischemia time (26.5 vs. 22.5 minutes, p=0.074), but this did not achieve statistical significance. An intraoperative complication occurred in one patient in each group. The postoperative complication rate was not statistically significant between the two groups (8.3% vs. 4.3%, p=0.377). The median hospital stay was 2 days for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: RAPN is safe and feasible in obese patients. Obese patients had a higher estimated blood loss and a trend toward greater operative time and warm ischemia time, which did not achieve statistical significance.