TALEN-mediated targeted mutagenesis of more than 100 COMT copies/alleles in highly polyploid sugarcane improves saccharification efficiency without compromising biomass yield.

Sugarcane is the world's most efficient feedstock for commercial production of bioethanol due to its superior biomass production and accumulation of sucrose in stems. Integrating first- and second-generation ethanol conversion processes will enhance the biofuel yield per unit area by utilizing both sucrose and cell wall-bound sugars for fermentation. RNAi suppression of the lignin biosynthetic gene caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been demonstrated to improve bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass.

Castor oil as a natural alternative to labor induction: A retrospective descriptive study.

Aim: To describe birthing outcomes among women who consumed castor oil cocktail as part of a freestanding birth center labor induction protocol.

Methods: De-identified data from birth logs and electronic medical records were entered into SPSS Statistics 22.0 for analysis for all women who received the castor oil cocktail (n=323) to induce labor between January 2008 and May 2015 at a birth center in the United States.

Precision breeding for RNAi suppression of a major 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase gene improves cell wall saccharification from field grown sugarcane.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a major feedstock for commercial bioethanol production. The recent integration of conversion technologies that utilize lignocellulosic sugarcane residues as well as sucrose from stem internodes has elevated bioethanol yields.

"It Makes You Rethink Your Choice of the Pill": Theory-Based Formative Research to Design a Contraceptive Choice Campaign.

Half of all pregnancies in the United States remain unplanned despite improved access to highly effective long-acting reversible contraception, including the intrauterine device and the implant. This study conducted theory-based formative research to develop a contraceptive choice campaign aimed at increasing long-acting reversible contraception uptake by women ages 18-44 years in Charleston, South Carolina, an urban area in the southeastern United States. Researchers developed and tested message concepts and designs.