Late PTSMA failure occurred more frequently in PTSMA procedures performed in the early, less experienced time period (p < 0.001). In conclusion, this study confirms that PTSMA, although effective, has a relatively high complication rate. Late PTSMA failure could not be predicted by baseline characteristics but could partially be explained by a learning-curve effect. This finding implies that PTSMA procedures should be restricted to experienced centers. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Heterogeneity in immune defense effectors can benefit hosts Cyclopamine cell line encountering a variety of parasites and pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPS) are a diverse set of immune defense effectors in many

amphibians, and are secreted from dermal granular glands to

protect the skin from infection. Over 50 different skin peptides have been reported from the European water frog hybridogenic complex (Pelophylax esculentus complex), consisting of the hybrid P. esculentus, and the parent species Pelophylax lessonae and Pelophylax ridibundus. In central Europe the hybrid is sympatric with www.selleckchem.com/products/pifithrin-alpha.html only P. lessonae, while in other areas all three species can co-occur. Amphibian immune defenses are likely under selective pressure from emerging pathogens such as the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). To assess if hybridization affects immune defenses against Bd, we compared skin peptides of the three species in terms of (i) quantity, (ii) activity against Bd, (iii) repertoire, and (iv) stability. Hybrids secreted AMPs at higher quantities and with greater fungicidal activity compared to cohabiting P. lessonae. Compared to P. ridibundus, AMPs from hybrids Z-IETD-FMK concentration were of similar quantity but slightly greater antifungal activity. Mass spectrometric analyses (MALDI-TOF) revealed that of all three species P. esculentus has the greatest peptide diversity, a repertoire inclusive of peptides occurring in either one or the other parent species. Measurements of degradation dynamics indicate that peptides

remain relatively stable on the skin of all species for over an hour after induction of skin gland secretions. Our data demonstrate that the hybrid has more effective peptide defenses against Bd and a richer peptide repertoire than either parent species. Hybrid advantage in environments hosting virulent pathogens may contribute to disassortative mating preferences, and we suggest that AMP diversity may be analogous to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) heterozygosity by benefiting hosts encountering multiple parasites. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“The role of IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK) 1 and its interaction with protein kinase C (PKC)delta in monocytes to regulate IL-1 beta production has not been reported so far. The present study thus investigates such mechanisms in the THP1 cell line and human monocytes.

These observations suggest that kallikrein can have antihypertensive function in physiological situations where sodium retention can trigger blood pressure elevation.”
“We investigated the relationship between the day-night blood pressure (BP) dip and the early morning BP surge in an cohort of 3012 initially untreated subjects with essential hypertension. The day-night reduction in systolic

BP showed a direct association Sotrastaurin in vivo with the sleep trough (r=0.564; P<0.0001) and the preawakening (r=0.554; P<0.0001) systolic BP surge. Over a mean follow-up period of 8.44 years, 268 subjects developed a major cardiovascular event (composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and heart failure requiring hospitalization) and 220 subjects died. In a Cox model, after

adjustment for predictive covariates, including age, sex, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, total cholesterol, left ventricular www.selleckchem.com/products/ly2090314.html hypertrophy on ECG, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and average 24-hour systolic BP, a blunted sleep trough (<= 19.5 mm Hg; quartile 1) and preawakening (<= 9.5 mm Hg; quartile 1) BP surge was associated with an excess risk of events (hazard ratio, 1.66 [95% CI, 1.14-2.42]; P=0.009; hazard ratio, 1.71 [95% CI, 1.12-2.71]; P=0.013). After adjustment for the same covariates, neither the dipping pattern nor the measures of early morning BP surge were independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, in initially untreated subjects with hypertension, a blunted day-night BP dip was associated with a blunted morning BP surge and vice versa. In these subjects, a blunted morning BP surge was an independent

predictor of cardiovascular events, whereas an excessive BP surge did not portend an increased risk of events. (Hypertension. 2012;60:34-42.)”
“Cryptococcus neoformans usually causes selleck chemicals llc disease in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This descriptive study was based on a retrospective review of 33 HIV-uninfected patients with disseminated cryptococcosis from 1998 to 2005. An underlying condition associated with immunocompromise was documented in 30 patients (90.9%), including liver cirrhosis (36.4%), diabetes mellitus (33.3%) and autoimmune disease (27.3%). Disseminated cryptococcosis carried a high mortality rate in this series, reaching 63% overall, with a median survival of 21 days. All patients (12/12) with liver cirrhosis died within the first month after the diagnosis of cryptococcosis. Otherwise, high Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, female gender and smoking history were associated with worse one-month outcome.”
“This work showed the effect of pheromone plantaricin A (PlnA) on the proliferation and migration of the human keratinocytes NCTC 2544.

It finds the frameshifting stimulators by means of a specialized RNA-pseudoknot folding program, fast enough for genome-wide analyses. Evaluations on known -1 PRF signals demonstrate a high sensitivity.”
“The dynamics of the photoinduced phase transition (PIPT) was systematically investigated in Co-Fe cyanide film, Na0.16Co[Fe(CN)(6)](0.71)5.8H(2)O, at 160 and 190 K above the melting temperature (T-m = 120 K) of the photoinduced phase. Below Tm, the film shows a permanent photoinduced phase transition from a low-spin (LS) phase to a static high-spin (HS) phase. We found that the relaxation curve from the photo-excited state changes from the exponential type to Avrami’s type

as the excitation photon density (n) increases. We interpreted this behavior in terms DZNeP of crystallization process of the photo-created HS sites.”
“Phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) inhibitors have been studied as potential therapeutics for

treatment of diabetes and Alzheimers disease. Here we report a potent PDE9 inhibitor 3r that has an IC50 of 0.6 nM and bigger than 150-fold selectivity over other PDEs. Entinostat purchase The HepG2 cell-based assay shows that 3r inhibits the mRNA expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose 6-phosphatase. These activities of 3r, together with the reasonable pharmacokinetic properties and no acute toxicity at 1200 mg/kg dosage, suggest its potential as a hypoglycemic agent. The crystal structure of PDE9-3r reveals significantly different

conformation and hydrogen bonding pattern of 3r from those of previously published 28s. Both 3r and 28s form a hydrogen bond with Tyr424, a unique learn more PDE9 residue (except for PDE8), but 3r shows an additional hydrogen bond with Ala452. This structure information might be useful for design of PDE9 inhibitors.”
“Objective The current study sets out to examine the longitudinal relationship between pain, pain-related disability, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The latter symptoms are highly prevalent in chronic pain and seriously impede functioning and quality of life. Nevertheless, the direction of the relationship involving these variables among individuals with chronic pain is still unclear. Methods Four-hundred twenty-eight individuals with chronic pain (238 women, mean age 54.84 years, mean pain duration 85.21 months) treated at two pain clinics completed questionnaires regarding their pain (Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire), depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale), state anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and pain-related disability (Pain Disability Index) at four time points, with an average of 5 months between measurements. Cross-lagged, structural equation modeling analyses were performed, enabling the examination of longitudinal associations between the variables. Results Significant symptoms of both depression and anxiety were reported by more than half of the sample on all waves.

Derived relationships between the rate coefficients (in cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)) and ionization potentials (in eV): log k(OH) = (1.248 0.065) IP + (1.06 0.73) and log k = (1.46 0.12) IF + (4.5 1.3) allows, in average,

to estimate rate coefficients within a factor of 2-3. The atmospheric implications of halogenated and hydrogenated ethers are briefly discussed on the basis of their estimated global lifetimes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background/Aims: The role of physical activity Napabucasin manufacturer in transplanted patients is often underestimated. We discuss the Italian National Transplant Centre experience, which started in 2008 studying transplanted patients involved in sports activities. The study was then developed through a model of cooperation between surgeons, sports physicians and exercise specialists. Methods: A multicentre study was realized in 120 transplanted patients of which 60 treated with supervised physical activity (three sessions/week of aerobic and strengthening exercises) and 60 controls. We present the results of the first 26 patients (16 males, 10 females; 47.8 +/- 10.0 years; 21 kidney, 5 liver transplanted; time from transplant 2.3 +/- 1.4 years) who completed 12 months of supervised physical

activity. Results: Data showed an increase of peak aerobic power (t=4.535; P smaller than 0.01) EPZ-6438 and maximum workload (t=4.665; P smaller than 0.01) in the incremental cycling test. Maximum strength of knee extensors (t=2.933; P smaller than 0.05) and elbow flexors (t=2.450; P smaller than 0.05), and the power of lower limb (t=2.303; P smaller than 0.05) significantly increases. Health Related Quality of Life showed a significant improvement. Serum creatinine (1.4 +/- 0.5

vs 1.3 +/- 0.4 mg/dL) and proteinuria (0.10 +/- 0.14 vs 0.08 +/- 0.08 gr/dL) were stable. Conclusion: These preliminary results confirm the positive effects of supervised physical click here exercise. It can be considered as an input to promote other detailed exercise protocols. Copyright (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“Myeloid cells play numerous roles in HIV-1 pathogenesis serving as a vehicle for viral spread and as a viral reservoir. Yet, cells of this lineage generally resist HIV-1 infection when compared to cells of other lineages, a phenomenon particularly acute during the early phases of infection. Here, we explore the role of APOBEC3A on these steps. APOBEC3A is a member of the APOBEC3 family that is highly expressed in myeloid cells, but so far lacks a known antiviral effect against retroviruses.

The glycolytic enzyme enolase-1 (ENO-1) binds plasminogen at the cell surface, enhancing local plasmin production. This study addressed the role played by ENO-1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) driven chemokine-directed monocyte migration and matrix invasion in vitro, as well as recruitment Acalabrutinib manufacturer of monocytes to the alveolar compartment in vivo. LPS rapidly up-regulated ENO-1

cell-surface expression on human blood monocytes and U937 cells due to protein translocation from cytosolic pools, which increased plasmin generation, enhanced monocyte migration through epithelial monolayers, and promoted matrix degradation. These effects were abrogated by antibodies directed against the plasminogen binding site of ENO-1. Overexpression of ENO-1 in U937 cells increased their migratory and matrix-penetrating capacity, which was suppressed by overexpression of a truncated ENO-1 variant lacking the plasminogen binding site (ENO-1 Delta PLG). In vivo, intratracheal LPS application in mice promoted alveolar recruitment of monocytic cells that overexpressed ENO-1, but not of cells overexpressing ENO-1 Delta PLG. Consistent with these data, pneumonia-patients exhibited increased ENO-1 cell-surface expression on blood monocytes and intense ENO-1 staining of mononuclear cells in the alveolar space. These data suggest an important mechanism of inflammatory

cell invasion mediated by increased cell-surface expression of ENO-1. (Blood. 2009; 113: 5588-5598)”
“Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite infecting one-third of the world population, residing relatively silently in the brain of the immunocompetent host. We hypothesized ABT263 that T. gondii seropositivity and serointensity are associated with having a history of attempting suicide and, in those attempting suicide, a greater number of attempts. MLN4924 in vitro T. gondii seropositivity and antibody

titers were compared between (a) patients with recurrent mood disorders with history of suicide attempt (99 individuals) versus (b) patients with recurrent mood disorders Without history of suicide attempt (119 individuals), and (c) healthy controls (39 individuals). Diagnosis was made using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Statistical methods included chi square, analysis of variance, and linear and logistic regression analyses. Suicide attempters had higher T. gondii antibody titers than nonsuicide attempters (p = 0.004). The logistic regression analysis revealed a predictive association between titers of anti- T. gondii antibodies and history of suicide attempt with OR = 1.55 (1.14-2.12), p = 0.006. No significant relationship was found between T. gondii seropositivity and suicide attempt status, number of prior suicide attempts, and recurrent mood disorder diagnosis. Although preliminary and bearing replication, this is the first report, to our knowledge, of an association between attempting suicide and T. gondii.

Consequently BCDD caused apoptotic death in cervical cancer cells as evidenced by DNA fragmentation and PARP-cleavage. Further, BCDD did not affect the extrinsic signalling transduction

pathway as depicted by its null effect on caspase-8. The in vivo anticancer activity of BCDD was investigated in Ehrlich Ascites carcinoma model where it exhibited tumor regression by 48% at 30 mg/kg, i.p., in mice. These findings indicated that BCDD is a potential candidate that may be found useful in the management of cervical cancer. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Objective: To critically examine the role of significant carotid stenosis in the pathogenesis of postoperative stroke following cardiac operations.\n\nDesign: this website Retrospective cohort study.\n\nSetting: Single tertiary care hospital.\n\nParticipants: A total of 4335 patients undergoing coronary artery

bypass grafting, BB-94 Proteases inhibitor aortic valve replacement, or both.\n\nMain Outcome Measures: Incidence, subtype, and arterial distribution of stroke.\n\nResults: Clinically definite stroke was detected in 1.8% of patients undergoing cardiac operations during the same admission. Only 5.3% of these strokes were of the large-vessel type, and most strokes (76.3%) occurred without significant carotid stenosis. In 60.0% of cases, strokes identified via computed tomographic head scans were not confined to a single carotid artery territory. According to clinical data, in 94.7% of patients, stroke occurred without direct correlation to significant carotid stenosis. Undergoing combined carotid and cardiac operations increases

the risk of BEZ235 price postoperative stroke compared with patients with a similar degree of carotid stenosis but who underwent cardiac surgery alone (15.1% vs 0%; P=.004).\n\nConclusions: There is no direct causal relationship between significant carotid stenosis and postoperative stroke in patients undergoing cardiac operations. Combining carotid and cardiac procedures is neither necessary nor effective in reducing postoperative stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.”
“Rubber compounds based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) containing organically modified layered double hydroxides (LDHs) were prepared using peroxide as a curing agent. The LDHs intercalated by organic compounds including sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) while the unmodified LDHs were used as contrast. Experimental results from TGA and XRD showed that both SSS- and SDBS-intercalated LDHs were successfully obtained. The morphology of the LDH composites was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and XRD. The chemical structure of NBR/LDHs compounds were measured by Fourier transform infrared spectrum.

To characterize the dynamics of DNA synthesis opposite 5-OHC, we initiated a comparison of unmodified GDC-0994 datasheet dCMP to 5-OHC, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC),

and 5-methylcytosine (5-MEC) in which these bases act as templates in the active site of RB69 gp43, a high-fidelity DNA polymerase sharing homology with human replicative DNA polymerases. This study presents the first crystal structure of any DNA polymerase binding this physiologically important premutagenic DNA lesion, showing that while dGMP is stabilized by 5-OHC through normal Watson Crick base pairing, incorporation of dAMP leads to unstacking and instability in the template. Furthermore, the electronegativity of the CS substituent appears to be important in the miscoding potential of these cytosine-like

templates. While dAMP is incorporated opposite 5-OHC similar to 5 times more efficiently than opposite unmodified dCMP, an elevated level of incorporation is also observed opposite 5-FC but not 5-MEC. Taken together, these data imply that the nonuniform templating by 5-OHC is due to weakened stacking capabilities, which allows dAMP incorporation to proceed in a manner similar to that observed opposite abasic sites.”
“Background: Enzyme activity is normally lost when formaldehyde is used as a reductant for silver staining after separation by electrophoresis. Hydrolytic activity of esterases can be examined on membranes without impairing enzyme activity when another reductant such as glucose is learn more used for silver staining of the enzyme after separation by non-denaturing two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and subsequent transfer.\n\nMethods: The hydrolysis of lipids in human high density lipoprotein (HDL) by

esterases first separated on a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane using non-denaturing 2-DE and silver stained using glucose as a reductant was examined.\n\nResults: Esterase activity was retained after glucose was used as a silver reductant for silver staining after separation using non-denaturing 2-DE. Lipids of HDL were removed by the esterases retained on the membrane after esterases were separated by 2-DE.\n\nConclusion: The results indicated that hydrolytic MDV3100 enzyme activity is retained after separation, staining and immobilization. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Hypercapnia (elevated CO(2) levels) occurs as a consequence of poor alveolar ventilation and impairs alveolar fluid reabsorption (AFR) by promoting Na,K-ATPase endocytosis. We studied the mechanisms regulating CO(2)-induced Na,K-ATPase endocytosis in alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) and alveolar epithelial dysfunction in rats. Elevated CO(2) levels caused a rapid activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in AECs, a key regulator of metabolic homeostasis.

02) were independent risk factors.\n\nThe incidence and risk factors for VTE in the management of musculoskeletal tumor patients by screening DD levels combined with MDCT were analyzed. For patients at risk, prospective surveys for VTE should be considered in the future.”
“The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine factors contributing to recommending vaccination to patients, using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire given to 345 nurses working at a tertiary hospital in South Africa. The average age of the participants was 37.2 years. About three-quarters (73.3%) of the nurses were aware of HPV and among Selleckchem Bcl 2 inhibitor them, 38.3% knew that HPV is the most common sexually

transmitted virus. Nurses had poor knowledge regarding HPV infection and the HPV vaccine. The majority (90.9%) of the nurses intended to recommend the vaccine to their patients. The nurses who mentioned that adolescents and

young adults would accept HPV vaccination were more likely to recommend HPV vaccination to their patients (OR = 57.78, p = 0.031). Nurses selleck chemicals had a low level of knowledge regarding HPV infection and vaccines but they were willing to recommend the vaccines to their patients. Nurses need to be educated before implementing HPV vaccinations nationwide.”
“Cell sorting is broadly utilized in the field of biological and clinical research. Scientists frequently apply the technique to investigate the biology of stem cells or to develop therapies against neurodegenerative diseases [1]. Currently flow cytometry is the state of the art procedure to cope with cell separation tasks. In comparison to these commonly used systems, which rely on a serial sorting concept, the microchip based cell sorting Cilengitide device promises an increasing sorting

velocity due to a parallel cell throughput, a more gentle cell treatment and an improved protection against biohazardous materials by encapsulating the sorting process in a microfluidic channel. The planned sorting device should be capable to sort droplets, which contain fluorescent cells by using the electrowetting effect. We present preliminary fluorescent microscopic investigations on a microfluidic system to demonstrate first separation events of different fluorescent labelled beads. In addition a layout and first images of the intended microchip will be introduced.”
“1. Trichome-producing (hairy) and trichomeless (glabrous) plants of Arabidopsis halleri subsp. gemmifera were investigated to test whether plant resistance to herbivory depends on the plants’ phenotypes and/or the phenotypes of neighbouring plants (associational effects). 2. A common garden experiment was conducted in which the relative frequency of hairy and glabrous plants was manipulated. Two species of leaf-chewing insects (larvae of a white butterfly and a cabbage sawfly) were found less often on hairy plants than on glabrous plants. By contrast, the numbers of aphids and flea beetles did not differ significantly between hairy and glabrous plants.

However, the posttranslational modifications of Ninjurin1 are poorly understood. Herein, we defined the proteolytic cleavage of Ninjurin1 and its functions. HEK293T cells overexpressing the C- or N-terminus tagging mouse Ninjurin1 plasmid produced additional cleaved forms of Ninjurin1 in the lysates or conditioned media (CM). Two custom-made anti-Ninjurin1

antibodies, Ab(1-15) or Ab(139-152), specific to the N- or C-terminal regions of Ninjurin1 revealed the presence of its shedding fragments in the mouse liver and kidney lysates. Furthermore, Matrix this website Metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 was responsible for Ninjurin1 cleavage between Leu(56) and Leu(57). Interestingly, the soluble N-terminal Ninjurin1 fragment has structural similarity with well-known chemokines. Indeed, the CM from HEK293T cells overexpressing the GFP-mNinj1 plasmid was able to attract Raw264.7 cells in trans-well assay. Collectively, we suggest that the N-terminal ectodomain of mouse Ninjurin1, which may act as a chemoattractant, is cleaved

by MMP9. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“We report here an HLA-A allele, A*11:90, found in a Taiwanese cord blood sample using DNA sequence-based typing (SBT) protocol after observing an anomalous reaction pattern in a sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) typing exercise. Silmitasertib The sequence of A*11:90 is identical to A*11:01:01, the most predominant A*11 variant in Taiwanese, in exon 2 but differs from A*11:01:01 in exon 3 by two nucleotide substitutions at codon 163 (c.487C>G

and c.488G>A), resulting R163E. Natural Product Library mw In comparison with the sequence of A*11:02:01, the second most predominant subtype of A*11 in Taiwanese A*11:90 has one nucleotide difference at codon 19 (c.55A>G) in exon 2 resulting K19E and two nucleotides variations at codon 163 (c.487C>G and c.488G>A) in exon 3 resulting R163E. HLA-A*11:90-B*40:02-DRB1*11:01 is the deduced probable HLA haplotype in association with A*11:90. The generation of A*11:90 is thought to involve a DNA recombination event between alleles A*11:01:01 and A*80:01 where A*80:01 donated a fragment of the DNA sequence (from n.t. 487 to n.t. 497) to the recipient sequence of A*11:01:01.”
“Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR) is a chloride channel protein, and mutations of its gene cause cystic fibrosis. CFTR is known to be expressed in epithelial cells of the respiratory, digestive and reproductive tracts. It is also present in rat neurons and heart ganglion cells. In humans, it is expressed in the hypothalamus, but has not been identified in other parts of the human nervous system. In this study, immunohistochemistry, double-staining immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, nested reverse transcription-PCR and relative quantification of real-time PCR analysis were performed on spinal and sympathetic ganglia from seven human autopsies with no known nervous system disease.

Constant feeding was better than intermittent feeding. The feeding strategy did not affect the

relative proportion of different fatty acids in the lipid, but the presence of C5 sugars did.”
“Haploidentical stem cell transplantation is an attractive form of transplantation because of the immediate donor https://www.selleckchem.com/products/SRT1720.html availability, ease of stem cell procurement, and the possibility to further collect donor cells for cellular therapy. Historically, maintaining T cells in the graft has been associated with very high rates of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), whereas T cell-depleted haploidentical transplantation has been limited by a higher incidence of graft rejection and nonrelapse mortality related to infectious complications as a result of delayed immune reconstitution posttransplantation. Recent approaches have attempted to eliminate the alloreactive T

cells to prevent GVHD posttransplantation. Administration of high-dose cyclophosphamide early posttransplantation in combination with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil has produced engraftment and GVHD rates similar to HLA-matched sibling transplants, suggesting that the most important barriers against successful haploidentical transplantation can be overcome. Future directions should focus on optimizing conditioning regimens for different diseases and prevention of disease relapse posttransplantation. Biol LCL161 purchase Blood Marrow Transplant 18: 372-380 (2012) (C) 2012 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation”
“Objective: To determine the impact of pharmacist counseling on patients’ knowledge of emergency contraception (EC).\n\nDesign: Single-group, repeated-measures analysis.\n\nSetting: Academic medical center Cilengitide women’s

clinic in Little Rock, AR, between January and July 2010.\n\nParticipants: 116 women 18 years or older.\n\nIntervention: 10-minute education session provided by a pharmacist or trained student pharmacist.\n\nMain outcome measures: Change in participants’ test scores (range 0 [lowest possible] to 13 [highest possible]) at three assessment periods (pretest, posttest, and follow-up) using 12 knowledge questions.\n\nResults: 116 participants with a mean (+/- SD) age of 25 +/- 5.9 years participated in this study. Mean knowledge scores were 5.3 +/- 4.1 for the pretest and 10.7 +/- 1.4 for the posttest (P < 0.001). The least-squares mean EC knowledge test score (adjusted for demographics) was 5.86 at pretest, 10.75 at posttest, and 10.75 at follow-up. A nonsignificant small change in scores from posttest to follow-up was detected after the Tukey-Kramer adjustment. A higher education level was associated with higher knowledge scores in this population.\n\nConclusion: Brief pharmacist-driven counseling sessions provided in a clinic setting are feasible and have a positive impact on immediate EC knowledge and long-term knowledge retention.