Saint Francis University

About: Saint Francis University is a education organization based out in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Osteoblast. The organization has 1694 authors who have published 2038 publications receiving 87149 citations.

Using the communication assessment tool in family medicine residency programs.

Abstract: Background and objectives The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT), developed by Makoul et al assesses patient perceptions of physicians' interpersonal and communication skills. The objective of this study was to gather initial benchmarking data for the use of the CAT in family medicine residency programs. Methods Data were collected from patients seeing 127 residents from six family medicine residency programs. A total of 1,931 patients completed the paper and pencil version of the CAT following an appointment with a resident; 1,880 of the CAT forms met the inclusion criteria for analysis. Results The overall mean percentage of items from which residents were rated as excellent was 69.7%. Significant differences were found in the overall percentage of items rated as excellent based on training year, with PGY-1 (77.0%) residents being rated significantly higher than PGY-2 (69.5%) and PGY-3 (68.1%) residents. There were no significant differences found in the overall percentage of items rated as excellent based on the native language or gender of the residents. Conclusions This initial benchmarking data can allow family medicine residency programs to compare the performance of their residents with the performance of residents from other programs. We recommend that the results of the CAT be used as both an evaluative and learning tool.

Determination and expression of platelet-derived growth factor-AA in bone cell cultures

Abstract: We describe a sensitive technique for the extraction and quantitation of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA in serum-free culture medium conditioned by fetal rat osteoblast-enriched (Ob) cells and demonstrate the expression of PDGF-A mRNA in Ob cells. Using C18 Sep-Pak chromatography with a methanol step gradient, we extracted immunoreactive PDGF-AA from the culture medium. A RIA protocol employing a recombinant human PDGF-AA standard enabled us to measure picomolar equivalents of PDGF-AA in Ob cell culture medium. The recovery of recombinant human PDGF-AA was 50 +/- 4%, and the coefficient of variation, including chromatographic extraction, was 15% for intraassay and 8.3% for interassay variability. The polyclonal antibody to recombinant human PDGF-AA displayed approximately 20-30% cross-reactivity with PDGF-AB, but did not bind PDGF-BB or other growth factors and cytokines known to be secreted by bone cells. Medium from Ob cells cultured for 24 h contained 0.9-1.3 pM human PDGF-AA equivalents, and...

Home-based therapies for the common cold among European american and ethnic minority families : The interface between alternative/complementary and folk medicine

Abstract: Background Most studies of alternative/complementary medicine use in children have focused on children with chronic illness and have not addressed the more common form of complementary medicine: popular home-based interventions and therapies for common low-morbidity sickness episodes. Also, there has often been a distinction between alternative/complementary medical practices used by the general population and those used by members of ethnic minority groups and commonly referred to as folk medicine or ethnomedicine. Objective To describe the home-based therapies and practices that parents from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds use to treat the common cold in their children. Method Interviews with mothers of children coming for care at a number of clinics and physicians' offices. Included were mothers from European American, African American, Puerto Rican, and West Indian–Caribbean heritages. Results Mean number of home-based remedies for the common cold did not differ among ethnic groups (controlling for maternal age, maternal education, number of children, and health insurance status). There were differences among groups regarding the frequency of use of specific remedies. Conclusions Home-based remedies for colds in childhood are commonly used. Many of the treatments are complementary to biomedical treatment (ie, antipyretics, over-the-counter cold remedies, fluids). Very few are potentially hazardous if taken in moderation. Mothers from ethnic minorities use similar amounts of home-based interventions when compared with mothers from the majority culture.