St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) is a medicinal plant that alleviates depression and other disorders due to its abundance of active ingredients. Hyperforin, rutin, and melatonin are the main active, and important, ingredients in St. John’s wort that alleviate depression. In order to investigate the optimal conditions for accumulating these active ingredients, design of experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) was employed in this study. Two-month-old St John’s wort plants were cultivated in growth chambers at varying temperatures, light intensities, and nutrient solution concentrations before analysis by HPLC, for determining differences in hyperforin, rutin, and melatonin content. The results showed that hyperforin and rutin contents were significantly influenced by temperature (18–23 °C) and light intensity (49–147 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD)), whereas Hoagland’s nutrient solution concentration (25–75%) had little effect. The accumulation of melatonin might not be influenced by cultivation conditions. Light intensity and temperature are easily controlled environmental factors in artificial cultivation, both of which are related to secondary metabolite production in the plant. Based on RSM, the optimal conditions for the accumulation of hyperforin and rutin were obtained. The maximum content of hyperforin was 5.6 mg/g, obtained at a temperature of 19 °C, a nutrient solution concentration of 45%, and a light intensity of 49 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD. The maximum content of rutin was 3.8 mg/g obtained at a temperature of 18 °C, a nutrient solution concentration of 50%, and a light intensity of 147 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD. This evaluation of suitable conditions for the accumulation of bioactive compounds in St. John’s wort can be applied to plant factories on a large scale.

Background: Malignant myoepitheliomas of the breast are extremely rare. There has been a limited number of published reports of myoepithelial carcinomas originating from the breast. Case Report: We describe a malignant myoepithelioma of the breast in a 56-year-old woman. Histological examination showed polygonal epithelioid cells and spindle cells with moderate to marked nuclear atypia. Immunohistochemistry showed reactivity in the spindle cells for smooth muscle actin, cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), and p63, indicating a myoepithelial cell lineage of tumor cells. The patient underwent radical surgical excision of the lesion and axillary lymph node dissection. She demonstrated no evidence of recurrence over an 11-month follow-up. Conclusions: We suggest myoepithelial carcinomas of the breast be managed with appropriate surgical clearance. A multidisciplinary approach is usually required.

We present a case of serious necrotizing fasciitis due to Aeromonas hydrophila without a suggestive history of routes of pathogen invasion in a 60-year-old male. Despite prompt broad-spectrum antibiotic and extensive surgical therapies, the patient died within 72 hours following initial presentation. Our experience suggests clinicians be highly alert to the disease when an immunocompromised patient featured fulminant soft-tissue infection in the endemic area.

An active noise control (ANC) system with a digital signal processor (DSP) is proposed for snoring noise cancellation. The ANC system applies the filtered‐X least mean square (FXLMS) method to generate anti‐snoring noise by estimating the secondary path and then adaptively tuning the weights of the finite‐length impulse response (FIR) filter. By interfering with noise, the anti‐snoring noise signals help to create a silent zone around the snorer. Several experiments confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The management of traumatic craniofacial defects, especially that involving the skull base with a dura defect and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea, remains a challenge. The main goal of surgery is to obliterate the abnormal communication as a result of bony and soft tissue defects. We present a patient with significant skull defects and CSF rhinorrhoea from traumatic head injuries. The free serratus anterior muscle and rib flap with an arteriovenous loop was successful and provided a solution to complex 3-D defects requiring both softtissue coverage and a vascularized bone graft. On 13-month follow up, an adequate coverage and an anatomical contour restoration were shown.