Information behavior includes activities of active information seeking, passive acquisition of information, and information use. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model, this study explored elderly Singaporean women's health information behavior to understand how they sought, evaluated, and used health information in everyday lives. Twenty-two in-depth interviews were conducted with elderly Chinese women aged 61 to 79. Qualitative analysis of the interview data yielded three meta-themes: information-seeking patterns, trustworthiness of health information, and peripheral route of decision making. Results revealed that elderly women took both systematic and heuristic approaches to processing information but relied on interpersonal networks to negotiate health choices.

Electronic polarisation contributes to the electronic landscape as seen by separating charges in organic materials. The nature of electronic polarisation depends on the polarisability, density, and arrangement of polarisable molecules. In this paper, we introduce a microscopic, coarse-grained model in which we treat each molecule as a polarisable site, and use an array of such polarisable dipoles to calculate the electric field and associated energy of any arrangement of charges in the medium. The model incorporates chemical structure via the molecular polarisability and molecular packing patterns via the structure of the array. We use this model to calculate energies of charge pairs undergoing separation in finite fullerene lattices of different chemical and crystal structures. The effective dielectric constants that we estimate from this approach are in good quantitative agreement with those measured experimentally in C 60 and phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) films, but we find significant differences in dielectric constant depending on packing and on direction of separation, which we rationalise in terms of density of polarisable fullerene cages in regions of high field. In general, we find lattices containing molecules of more isotropic polarisability tensors exhibit higher dielectric constants. By exploring several model systems we conclude that differences in molecular polarisability (and therefore, chemical structure) appear to be less important than differences in molecular packing and separation direction in determining the energetic landscape for charge separation. We note that the results are relevant for finite lattices, but not necessarily for infinite systems. We propose that the model could be used to design molecular systems for effective electronic screening.

Cardiovascular, orthopedic, and interventional radiology procedures using fluoroscopy require healthcare professionals to wear heavy lead garments for radiation protection, which can lead to musculoskeletal injuries, discomfort, and fatigue. A mobile lead garment frame, MobiLead, was designed to mitigate these issues by moving the lower garment load off body to a structural frame and redistributing the load of the upper garment from the shoulders to the hips through a torso frame. The frame was designed to be compact with a minimal footprint for maneuverability in operating rooms with limited space, while still giving the surgeon adequate mobility for various emergency procedures. Preliminary analysis of device efficacy was conducted using electromyography (EMG) of load-bearing muscles during use and qualitative surgeon user feedback surveys. Nonparametric permutation tests showed that the MobiLead device mean activation was significantly lower than the standard lead garment (p<0.001). Surgeon feedback and use testing showed that the device fits under a sterile gown and is maneuverable in an operating room (OR).

Cardiovascular, orthopedic, and interventional radiology procedures using fluoroscopy require healthcare professionals to wear heavy lead garments for radiation protection, sometimes for up to 12 hours per day. Wearing lead garments for prolonged periods of time can lead to musculoskeletal injuries, discomfort, and fatigue. MobiLead is a mobile lead garment frame that was developed to reduce the weight supported by the user in an effort to mitigate these problems. The MobiLead system moves the lower garment load off the user’s body to a structural ground-supported frame and redistributes the upper load from the shoulders to the hips through a torso frame. The system is compact and maximizes the limited space available in operating rooms, while still giving the surgeon adequate mobility for various emergency procedures. Preliminary analysis of device effectiveness was conducted using electromyography and qualitative surgeon user feedback surveys. This paper will discuss the design, fabrication, and testing procedures for this mobile radiation protection system optimizing both support and mobility.