Objective To investigate the association of low-density (lipid-rich) muscle measured by computed tomography (CT) with skeletal muscle function and health-related quality of life in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). Methods Seventeen patients and ten healthy controls underwent CT of the mid-thigh to quantify high (30-100HU) and low density (0-29HU) skeletal muscle areas. Anthropometric measures, body composition, physical activity level, health-related quality of life, skeletal muscle strength, endurance and fatigue were assessed. Patients were compared against controls. The relationship of anthropometric, body composition and disease variables with measures of muscle function were examined using Spearman’s test on the patient group. Linear regression was used to assess the age-and disease-adjusted relationship of muscle quality to physical function and muscle strength. Results Patients had higher body fat% (p=0.042), trunk fat mass (p=0.042), android/gynoid fat (p=0.033) and mid-thigh low density muscle/total muscle area (p<0.001) compared to controls. Mid-thigh low density muscle/total muscle area was negatively correlated with self-reported physical function, strength and endurance; the SF-36 physical functioning (p=0.004), manual muscle testing (p=0.020), knee maximal voluntary isometric contraction/thigh mineral free lean mass (p<0.001) and the endurance step test (p<0.001), suggesting that muscle quality impacts function in IIM. Using multiple linear regression adjusted for age, global disease damage, and total fat mass, poor muscle quality as measured by mid-thigh low density muscle/total muscle area was negatively associated with SF-36 physical functioning (p= 0.009). Conclusion Mid-thigh low density muscle/ total muscle area is a good predictor of muscle strength, endurance and health-related quality of life as it pertains to physical functioning in patients with IIMs.

Objective The goals of this study were to assess the predictive value of chart abstracted American College of Rheumatology-Functional Status (ACR-FS) with patient reported ACR-FS, and to relate them with measures of muscle function in a single institution cohort of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). Methods Demographic and clinical data on 102 patients with IIMs regularly followed in the Rheumatology and Neurology Clinics at the University of Kentucky Medical Center between 2006 and 2012 were obtained through retrospective chart review. Clinical and functional status evaluation, muscle performance testing, and body composition measures were performed on a subset of 21 patients. ACR-FS were obtained both by chart abstraction and direct patient report. Spearman’s correlations were used to examine the relationship of ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction with direct patient report, as well as the relationship of measures of physical function and body composition with ACR-FS. Results ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction was significantly correlated with ACR-FS derived from direct patient report (ρ=0.78, p<0.001). ACR-FS derived from chart abstraction was also significantly correlated with patient reported physical function (ρ= −0.71, p<0.001) and physical activity (ρ=−0.58, p<0.05), manual muscle testing (ρ= −0.66, p<0.01) and skeletal muscle endurance as measured by the functional index-2 test (shoulder flexion ρ= −0.62, p<0.01; hip flexion ρ= −0.65, p<0.0; heel lift ρ= −0.67, p<0.01; and toe lift ρ= −0.68, p<0.01). Conclusion The ACR-FS is a simple measure of disability that can be used in chart abstraction studies involving IIM patients. We have demonstrated that ACR-FS correlates well with muscle performance tests of strength and endurance.

Information about plant materials of construction in artefacts advances knowledge about human history, agriculture, trade, migration and adaptation to new environments. Typically, materials identification in artefacts made from plants is problematic, since processing, age, dirt and surface treatments can mask identifying features, while ethical considerations relating to sampling limit the use of some analytical techniques. The study tests the usefulness of polarized light microscopy for identifying the New Zealand and Pacific plant species used to make tapa, indicating birefringent and morphological characteristics that can be used to differentiate fibres at the level Moraceae (Pacific; from genera Artocarpus, Broussonetia and Ficus) and Malvaceae (New Zealand; from genera Hoheria and Plangianthus).

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