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.

Novel Fe3O4/Ni-Al-Ce LDH/Bi2WO6 composites were prepared through a hydrothermal method and co-precipitation method. The morphologies and structures of the photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, Raman, TEM, UV-vis-DRS, BET surface area and VSM techniques. The photocatalytic performances of the photocatalysts were investigated by the decolorization of methyl orange (MO) under visible-light irradiation. The results showed that the Fe3O4/Ni-Al-Ce LDH/Bi2WO6 composites exhibited greater photocatalytic activities compared to pure Bi2WO6 and the Ni-Al-Ce LDH; the decolorization rate of MO was 87% within 60 min under visible-light irradiation. The decolorization efficiency of the composite material remained at 71% after 4 recycling runs, showing improved stability. Furthermore, the experimental results also showed that the photocatalytic reactions for the composites followed first-order reaction kinetics. Therefore, the Fe3O4/Ni-Al-Ce LDH/Bi2WO6 composites were photocatalysts with high efficiencies and stabilities for a photocatalytic reaction of an organic pollutant, and this study provides a new, effective method for the development of wastewater treatment.