Longitudinal observational study investigating outcome measures for clinical trials in inclusion body myositis.

Objective: To describe decline in muscle strength and physical function in patients with sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM).

Methods: Manual muscle testing (MMT), quantitative muscle testing (QMT) and disability scoring using the IBM Functional Rating Scale (IBMFRS) were undertaken for 181 patients for up to 7.3 years.

Social hierarchy and the choice of metal recycling at Anyang, the last capital of Bronze Age Shang China.

Anyang, the last capital of the Chinese Shang dynasty, became one of the largest metal consumers in Eurasia during the second millennium BCE. However, it remains unclear how Anyang people managed to sustain such a large supply of metal. By considering the chemical analysis of bronze objects within archaeological contexts, this paper shows that the casting and circulation of metal at Anyang was effectively governed by social hierarchy.