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Last year I visited a relative in Canada and leaning up in the corner of one of his rooms was an old Harmony guitar. He bought it in Leigh-on-Sea in [...]

The article in Guitarist magazine features several letters from readers. One reader shares their experience of playing guitar with their eyes closed, which led to them playing in new and different ways. The editor agrees that closing one sense can heighten others and suggests that closing our eyes can help us focus on sound and improve our playing. Another reader discusses their preference for certain guitar brands and how their perceptions have changed over time. The editor emphasizes the importance of finding guitars that work for individual needs and highlights the dedication of guitar designers in creating quality instruments. The article also includes a request for information about a specific guitar brand and a reader's invention to address neck dive in guitars. Lastly, a reader shares their discovery of an old Harmony guitar and seeks more information about its history and value. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Iron deficiency and its consequent anemia constitute the commonest micronutrient deficiency in the world. Objective: We investigated whether long-term, weekly ironfolate supplements administered at school would improve hemoglobin and ferritin concentrations in adolescent girls, including those with mild-to-moderate anemia and hemoglobin concentrations indicating borderline anemia. Design: Subjects were 266 girls with hemoglobin concentrations of 80-119.9 g/L (group A) and 358 girls with hemoglobin concentrations of 120-130 g/L (group B) who were otherwise healthy. Two hundred sixty-six girls in group A and 268 girls in group B were randomly assigned to receive either 60 or 120 mg Fe plus 3.5 mg folic acid weekly for 22 wk. Ninety of the girls in group B were randomly assigned to receive only 5 mg folic acid weekly. Capillary hemoglobin and plasma ferritin were measured at baseline and after 12 and 22 wk of supplementation. Results: By the end of the study, 2% of the girls had dropped out and [is greater than or equal to] 96% had taken [is greater than or equal to] 20 of the 22 tablets; side effects were minimal. Mean plasma ferritin increased significantly in all iron-supplemented groups, independently of initial hemoglobin values and iron doses. Ferritin concentrations decreased in the girls supplemented with folic acid only. As expected, hemoglobin responses to iron were higher in group A than in group B and increases were positively correlated with initial plasma ferritin. Hemoglobin failed to respond to folate supplementation if initial plasma ferritin concentrations were low. Mean hemoglobin increased significantly and consistently in relation to the length of treatment. Conclusion: Long-term, weekly iron-folate supplementation was found to be a practical, safe, effective, and inexpensive method for improving iron nutrition in adolescent schoolgirls. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:1249-56.

A model for changes in energy balance and body weight is described which can be written as an iterative computer program. Medium and long-term changes in body weight resulting from random daily fluctuations in energy balance are quantitatively predicted. Body weight varies periodically about a mean value to to the extent of ± 1 kg over a span of a few weeks. Long-term weight stabilization is the result of a dynamic equilibrium between energy intake and output which depends on activity and tissue metabolism. A lean : fat tissue deposition ratio defines the metabolic type of individual. This ratio, which is constant for each individual, governs the proportions in which these tissues are both deposited and mobilized. In the model, the ratio has an important effect on the magnitude and composition of the weight gains resulting from over-eating. It is suggested that the differences in response which have been observed in over-eating experiments result from inter-individual differences in this ratio.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to compare the incidence/prevalence of diseases in persons attending for ambulatory care at a Queensland Aboriginal community and a farming area in western Queensland. Data were analysed for attendances for disease management from 1 May 1994 to 31 April 1995 at Cherbourg Hospital and from 1 March 1995 to 28 February 1996 at Alpha Hospital. Over these periods the hospitals and associated clinics were the only local ambulatory services available to each community. The numbers of visits for management of disease were 6.0 per person per year at Cherbourg and 4.3 per person per year at Alpha. At each location 78% of the population visited the service for disease management. At Cherbourg, the commonest diagnoses were skin diseases, mainly associated with scabies, accidents and injuries, and respiratory diseases. At Alpha the commonest problems were accidents and injuries, and respiratory disorders, followed by musculoskeletal, skin and CNS disorders. The rate of diabetes was higher in the Cherbourg group, bid involved only 5% of the population and was thus not a major cause for the use of health services. The rate of visits for cardiovascular disease at Alpha and Cherbourg were similar, but the percentage of persons involved was smaller at Cherbourg. Accidents and injuries, and respiratory diseases were common in both locations. Skin disease, mainly due to scabies, was a major problem in the Aboriginal community and led to many admissions. Many visits involved potentially preventable diseases.

A letter to the editor is presented which comments on the April 2012 article "Food Poisoning's Hidden Legacy" by Maryn McKenna, noting the effect of Salmonella infection on joints.

Aboriginal infants at Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement in Queensland now have growth rates which are similar to those of white Australian infants. The proportion of children under 90% of the standard weight‐for‐age appears to be the same as for white Australian children and meets the international standards. Apart from premature infants, no children have been found in the accepted "at risk" categories.

Normal physiological processes can alter the weight of an infant by ± 80 g a day. Variations in measured weight and in measured changes in weight cannot be reduced by better scales or better techniques.