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Introduction: Ineffective erythropoiesis (IE) is a crucial hallmark of β-Thalassemia (β-Thal) and sets the goal for treatment of both Transfusion-Dependent (TDT) and Non Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (NTDT) patients. The Growth Differentiation Factor (GDF) group has a relevant role in the molecular regulation of IE. Specifically, GDF11 contributes to the inhibition of RBC maturation and it is targeted by activin traps, such as luspatercept. However, its role is still debated; i.e., in a mouse model of β-Thal, the absence of GDF11 alone is not sufficient to mitigate IE (Guerra A et al., Blood, 2019). GDF15 increases from early until late phases of erythroid differentiation and negatively regulates erythroid cell development in-vitro, modulating maturation and apoptosis. (Ranjbaran R et a.l, Exp Cell Res, 2020). A few clinical studies found elevated serum GDF15 levels in β-Thal (Tanno T et al., Nat Med, 2007; Huang Y et al., Int J Med Sci, 2019), but data are sparse and a clear correlation with the severity of the pathology is still missing. Methods: We run an observational study at our institution. At routine checks, patients were asked to consent to a specific blood sample for GDF15, whereas hemoglobin (Hb), serum erythropoietin (Epo), ferritin (Ftn), iron, and transferrin saturation (TSat) were measured as part of clinical practice. In a small subset of patients, a consent for serial sampling was added. Serum GDF15 was measured by ELISA (DuoSet DY957, R&D Systems). Demographics were collected from clinical records. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 10 (Statsoft). Results: GDF15 levels were measured in 458 individuals: 267 TDT, 77 NTDT, 45 β-Thal trait carriers (BTC), and 69 healthy (H) subjects. Median (IQR) levels of GDF15 were significantly different among diagnoses (P Discussion: GDF15 levels correlated with the severity of β-Thal phenotype, showing a 26-fold (TDT), a 6-fold (NTDT) and a 2-fold (BTC) increase compared to controls. In TDT patients, higher GDF15 levels correlated with lower Hb and higher Epo, which are typically observed as a result of IE in thalassemia. In addition, GDF15 correlated with markers of altered iron metabolism, such as TSat and serum iron. In individual patients, GDF15 showed strong and consistent variation with treatment. GDF15 was also associated with quantitative markers of disease in NTDT and BTC patients. This is to our knowledge the larger sample of patients carrying β-thal mutations in which GDF15 levels were measured and correlated with the severity of the disease. These results show that GDF15 may be a suitable and useful quantitative marker of IE. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Piga: Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Acceleron: Research Funding. Longo: Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria; BlueBird Bio: Honoraria.

The reactivity of the dinuclear complex dicarbonyl[η4-3,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,5-diphenylcyclopenta-2,4-dienone] (2) with imidazolium salts has been studied using a library of variously functionalized imidazolium salts, and leading to a class of ruthenium anionic complexes of the type [dicarbonylη4-3,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,5-diphenylcyclopenta-2,4-dienone (halide)Ru][1,3-disubsittuted-imidazolium] (4) in the form of ion pair with imidazolium. The reaction is clean, general and quantitative and the complexes formed are stable to air and moisture both in the solid state and in solution. The ionic complexes 4 show affinity for ionic liquids and represent stable precursors of a catalytic active species, likely similar to those generated from Shvo catalyst, a well-established homogeneous bifunctional catalyst for hydrogen transfer. Our approach allows the use of green ionic liquids (IL) as solvents, providing better control of catalytic reactions involving 4, and easier catalyst recycle. IL-supported ionic pair catalysts exhibit interesting catalytic activity (up to > 99 % of conversion) in the transfer hydrogenation of a model compound such as 4-fluoroacetophenone. The IL-supported redox catalysts can be also recycled exploiting the biphasic nature of the system. The synthetic method here discussed represents a novelty within the field of IL-supportation and is potentially useful for the heterogenization of the catalysts.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is nowadays one of the most common causes of infectious disease-related morbility and mortality worldwide. The differential diagnosis between TB and some others conditions is an emerging problem, particularly challenging when TB imaging mimicks sarcoidosis, lymphoproliferative disorders and pulmonary neoplasms. In these cases, the correct diagnoses can be made with certainty only with trans-bronchial or CT guided biopsy.

The aim of this paper is to provide an effective and comprehensive summary of the main inflammatory pleural diseases, providing the radiologist an overview of key points in CXR, CT and US, and their main aspects in the differential diagnosis. The diffuse benign pleural diseases are frequently found during the first-level radiological diagnostic approach, but they are often difficult to classify because of their poor characterization. Pleural effusion or thickening can have a benign or malignant cause and use of the appropriate imaging techniques is crucial to a correct diagnosis. The clinical features of pleural disease are often nonspecific and may require complex imaging and histology for diagnosis. The integration of informations derived from different methods (CXR, CT and US) is extremely important to an appropriate diagnosis.