ABSTRACT Background: This study aims to explore the epidemiology, clinical profile and strain characteristics of cryptococcosis from 2013 to 2017 in a major teaching hospital in China. Methods: Trends in antifungal drug susceptibility of 217 consecutive non-repetitive cryptococcal isolates collected from patients of an university hospital in China were analyzed between 2013 and 2017. Of those, 98 isolates were conserved for identification by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) system. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to designate molecular types. Clinical characteristics of the 98 patients with cryptococcosis during the period of 2013-2017 were retrospectively evaluated. Results: There was a trend for gradual increase in the MIC range of fluconazole was from 2013 to 2017. The conserved 98 clinical cryptococcal isolates included 97 C. neoformans and one C. gattii, and 90 (91.8%) isolates belonged to ST5 genotype VNI. Out of the 98 patients with cryptococcosis, 28 (28.6%) were HIV-infected and 32 (32.7%) had no underlying diseases. HIV-infected patients had higher mortality than HIV-uninfected patients (28.6% vs 14.3%, p = 0.147). Conclusions: Most of the patients with cryptococcosis were not HIV-infected in this study, while patients with HIV had a higher mortality. Reduced susceptibility to fluconazole was observed among C. neoformans isolates, most of them belonged to ST5 genotype VNI having an impact on the effective dose of fluconazole.

Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as variações temporais e espaciais da respiração do solo (Rs) em casa de vegetação, assim como os fatores que as causam, em um solo com diferentes coberturas, cultivado com pepino (Cucumis sativus). Quatro tratamentos de cobertura foram aplicados ao solo cultivado com pepino: CK, prática convencional sem cobertura; FM, cobertura com filme plástico; CM, cobertura com filme plástico e palha de trigo; e SM, cobertura com palha de trigo. A Rs foi medida por meio de uma câmara de respiração de solo, conectada a um analisador de gás infravermelho, e as diferenças de Rs entre as coberturas foram avaliadas. A Rs foi significativamente menor no controle do que nos tratamentos com cobertura. Além disso, a Rs foi mais elevada nas posições de solo próximas das plantas (5,4 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) do que nas posições entre plantas (4,7 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) e entre linhas (3,9 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1). O teor de água no solo e a temperatura do solo apresentaram efeito interativo sobre a Rs. A biomassa e o vigor radiculares do pepino devem ser incorporados como variáveis preditoras de Rs nos cultivos em sucessão, principalmente para a estimação acurada do ciclo do carbono em agroecossistemas, em casa de vegetação.

Abstract: The objective of this work was to determine the temporal and spatial variations of soil respiration (Rs) in a greenhouse, as well as the factors causing them, in a soil covered with different mulching types and cultivated with cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Four mulching treatments were applied to a soil cultivated with cucumber: CK, conventional practice without mulch; FM, plastic film mulch; CM, combined mulch of plastic film with wheat straw; and SM, wheat straw mulch. Rs was measured by a soil respiration chamber connected to a portable infrared gas analyzer, and the differences of Rs between mulchings were evaluated. Rs was significantly lower in the control than in the treatments with mulch. In addition, Rs was higher in the position on the soil near plants (5.4 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) than in the positions between plants (4.7 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) and rows (3.9 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1). Soil water content and temperature had an interacted effect on Rs. Cucumber root biomass and root vigor should also be incorporated as predictor variables for Rs in the succession crops, mainly for accurately estimating carbon cycling in agroecosystems in a greenhouse.