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OBJECTIVES Aortic root aneurysms often affect younger patients in whom valve-sparing surgery is challenging. Among current techniques, aortic valve-sparing root replacement described by Tirone David has shown encouraging results. The AORTLANTIC registry was instituted for a multicentre long-term evaluation of this procedure. The current initial study evaluates the hospital outcomes of the procedure. METHODS This is a retrospective study of patients operated between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2020 in 6 hospitals in western France. All study data were recorded in the national digital database of the French Society of Cardiac Surgery: EPICARD. RESULTS A total of 524 consecutive patients with a mean age of 53 (15.1) years underwent surgery. 13% (n = 68) of patients presented with acute aortic dissection, 16.5% (n = 86) had associated connective tissue pathology and 7.3% (n = 37) had bicuspid aortic valves. Preoperative aortic regurgitation (AR) ≥2/4 was present in 65.3% (n = 341) of patients. Aortic valvuloplasty was required in 18.6% (n = 95) of patients. At discharge, 92.8% (n = 461) of patients had no or 1/4 AR. The stroke rate was 1.9% (n = 10). Intra-hospital mortality was 1.9% (n = 10). CONCLUSIONS The AORTLANTIC registry includes 6 centres in western France with >500 patients. Despite numerous complex cases (acute aortic dissections, bicuspid aortic valves, preoperative AR), aortic valve-sparing root replacement has a low intra-hospital mortality. The initial encouraging results of this multicentre study warrant further long-term evaluation by future studies.

Glucose utilization increases in tumors, a metabolic process that is observed clinically by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET). However, is increased glucose uptake important for tumor cells, and which transporters are implicated in vivo? In a genetically-engineered mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma, we show that the deletion of only one highly expressed glucose transporter, Glut1 or Glut3, in cancer cells does not impair tumor growth, whereas their combined loss diminishes tumor development. 18F-FDG-PET analyses of tumors demonstrate that Glut1 and Glut3 loss decreases glucose uptake, which is mainly dependent on Glut1. Using 13C-glucose tracing with correlated nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and electron microscopy, we also report the presence of lamellar body-like organelles in tumor cells accumulating glucose-derived biomass, depending partially on Glut1. Our results demonstrate the requirement for two glucose transporters in lung adenocarcinoma, the dual blockade of which could reach therapeutic responses not achieved by individual targeting.

Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, is a serious public health threat in Africa, especially in DR Congo. Previously limited to endemic areas with clade 1a, monkeypox virus has recently spread to non-endemic regions, where clade 1b has emerged. This study provides a clinical comparison of mpox cases in DR Congo regions where clade 1a and clade 1b are prevalent. We conducted a retrospective observational study, analysing PCR-confirmed mpox cases reported from sentinel health zones in seven provinces between Oct 1, 2023, and Sept 31, 2024. Cases from the newly affected provinces (South-Kivu and Kinshasa) were described along with those from four endemic provinces (Mai-Ndombe, Tshuapa, Tshopo, South-Ubangi, and Équateur). Surveillance data, including type of exposure, demographic details, clinical presentation, complications, and outcomes were collected from national surveillance systems and local health facilities, with laboratory confirmation using quantitative PCR. All analyses were restricted to descriptive statistics. Of 17 927 suspected cases identified, 10 986 were investigated, 5948 were PCR-positive, and 4895 met the inclusion criteria based on data completeness: 4436 in newly affected and 459 in endemic regions. In newly affected provinces, median age was 20 years (IQR 8–28), 2119 (47·8%) participants were female, and 2310 (52·1%) were male. In endemic provinces, median age was 15 years (7–26), 179 (39·0%) participants were female, and 277 (60·3%) were male. Direct or intimate human contact was reported by 1951 (44·0%) individuals in newly affected provinces versus 25 (5·4%) in endemic provinces, and zoonotic exposure in 11 (0·2%) and 99 (21·6%), respectively. The proportions of partcipants with systemic symptoms (3828 [86·3%] in newly affected provinces and 427 [93·0%] in endemic provinces) and respiratory symptoms (2450 [55·2%] and 219 [47·7%]), and median skin lesion counts (91 [IQR 37–200] and 163 [95–345]) were similar between newly affected and endemic regions. Complications included skin infections (2041 [46·0%] in newly affected provinces and 201 [43·8%] in endemic provinces), respiratory distress (82 [1·8%] and 29 [6·3%]), vision impairment (7 [0·2%] and 28 [6·1%]), and prostration (695 [15·7%] and 51 [11·1%]). The case-fatality rate was 0·7% (95% CI 0·4–1·3; 14 of 1924) in children and 0·6% (0·3–1·0; 14 of 2483) in adults in newly affected areas, compared with 5·9% (3·4–10·0; 14 of 236) in children and 2·7% (1·1–6·1; six of 222) in adults in endemic regions. Content note: this Article and its appendix contain graphic images of mpox lesions affecting various sites including the face and genitals. Our study indicates concurrent mpox outbreaks in DR Congo, involving younger individuals, a higher proportion of women and girls, and distinct presentations with higher lesion counts and respiratory symptoms compared with clade 2b lineage B.1 outbreaks. The high proportion of infectious complications and case-fatality rates, especially in endemic regions, emphasise the need for timely antibiotic therapy and targeted vaccination to reduce morbidity and mortality. Skin NTDs and STI Research Unit, Fight Infections Foundation.

Non-differentiated asteroids are among the most primitive objects in our Solar System, having escaped intense heating mechanisms. To help us understand the information contained in reflectance spectra measured on asteroids, we analyzed meteorites in the laboratory. We present an in-depth analysis of a large set of reflectance spectra: 23 CV3, 15 CO3, 4 CR2 and 31 Unequilibrated Ordinary Chondrites (UOCs). Each of the samples has a well characterized thermal history . Variations in the reflectance spectra are observed between and within each chondrite group. UOCs systematically exhibit deeper absorption features, distinguishing them from carbonaceous chondrites. The CR2 samples presented in this study are easily distinguished from type 3 chondrites by exhibiting the 1 {\\mu}m band at lower wavelengths. CV and CO chondrites exhibit comparable mineralogical compositions and can, therefore, not be distinguished solely based on their spectral features. In the case of CV chondrites, the 1 {\\mu}m band depth increases with increasing metamorphic grade, while among CO chondrites, the spectra exhibit increasing visual slopes. By comparing the chondrite spectra with the spectra of various end member asteroids we are able to suggest several possible genetic links to the studied chondrites.