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As a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.) is commonly used to treat common diseases, for example, esophageal cancer and myasthenia gravis. Furthermore, ginseng is also processed into a functional food additive that is utilized to improve the freshness of chicken soup and make health wine. Unfortunately, ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.) has already shown a noticeable bitterness during its application process. In this research, the bitter substances in ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.) after two common preparation processes (water extraction and ethanol extraction) were separated, purified and identified by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC), high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and an electronic tongue. The results indicated that compared with the other four bitter compounds, the ginsenoside Rb1 had the highest bitterness value, followed by 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg2, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Rf and ginsenoside Rb3. Upon the evaluation of results to reduce the bitterness of ginseng extract, we found that the composite embedding system of chitosan adsorption in the ginseng carrageenan gel microsphere (K/MC/MCG) could effectively reduce the bitterness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Objectives: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus molecular targeted therapies has emerged as the main approach for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT). A robust model for outcome prediction and risk stratification of recommended TACE plus molecular targeted therapies candidates is lacking. We aimed to develop an easy-to-use tool specifically for these patients., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 384 patients with HCC and PVTT who underwent TACE plus molecular targeted therapies at 16 different institutions. We developed and validated a new prognostic score which called ABPS score. Additionally, an external validation was performed on data from 200 patients enrolled in a prospective cohort study., Results: The ABPS score (ranging from 0 to 3 scores), which involves only Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI, grade 1: 0 score; grade 2: 1 score), PVTT(I-II type: 0 score; III-IV type: 1 score), and systemic-immune inflammation index (SII,<550 × 10 12 : 0 score; ≥550 × 10 12 : 1 score). Patients were categorized into three risk groups based on their ABPS score: ABPS-A, B, and C (scored 0, 1-2, and 3, respectively). The concordance index (C-index) of the ABPS scoring system was calculated to be 0.802, significantly outperforming the HAP score (0.758), 6-12 (0.712), Up to 7 (0.683), and ALBI (0.595) scoring systems (all P < 0.05). These research findings were further validated in the external validation cohorts., Conclusion: The ABPS score demonstrated a strong association with survival outcomes and radiological response in patients undergoing TACE plus molecular targeted therapy for HCC with PVTT. The ABPS scoring system could serve as a valuable tool to guide treatment selection for these patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This report evaluates the efficiency and safety of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and argatroban for the treatment of IVC filter thrombosis complicated by heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). From October 2012 to December 2014, 19 patients with unilateral lower extremity deep venous thrombosis were treated with standard anticoagulation, filter placement and urokinase-based CDT, all of whom developed IVC filter thrombosis and HIT. A revised protocol (tPA-based CDT and argatroban-based anticoagulation) was performed to treat IVC thrombosis. The extent of lysis was graded from I to III. Technical and clinical outcomes and complications were monitored. A total of 22 filters were implanted, 20 of which were retrieved later. The technical success rate of revised CDT for IVC thrombosis was 100%. On evaluating IVC thrombus, thirteen cases (68.4%, 13/19) were identified as grade III (complete resolution of thrombus) and six (31.6%, 6/19) as grade II (50-99% resolution of thrombus). No major bleeding related to CDT occurred. HIT in all patients was successfully treated with argatroban. Two patients with malignant tumor died during the follow-up. For patients with IVC filter thrombosis complicated by HIT, it seems tPA-based CDT and argatroban is an alternative regimen.