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There is a strong genetic contribution to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk, with heritability estimates of up to 60%. Both Mendelian and small effect variants have been identified, but in common with other conditions, such variants only explain a little of the heritability. Genomic structural variation might account for some of this otherwise unexplained heritability. We therefore investigated association between structural variation in a set of 25 ALS genes, and ALS risk and phenotype. As expected, the repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene was identified as associated with ALS. Two other ALS-associated structural variants were identified: inversion in the VCP gene and insertion in the ERBB4 gene. All three variants were associated both with increased risk of ALS and specific phenotypic patterns of disease expression. More than 70% of people with respiratory onset ALS harboured ERBB4 insertion compared with 25% of the general population, suggesting respiratory onset ALS may be a distinct genetic subtype., Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA); Wellcome Trust; Medical Research Council; University of Manchester Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research (CIGMR); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South London at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Dementia Biomedical Research Unit; Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre; King's Health Partners (Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, King's College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Guy's and St Thomas' Charity; Health Data Research UK (HDR UK); ALS Association Milton Safenowitz Research Fellowship; European Research Council (ERC); EU Joint Programme-Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND); European Community's Health Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013); European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; H2020-PHC-2014-two-stage; PPP Allowance; KU Leuven Opening the Future Fund; ALS Liga Belgie; Science Foundation Ireland; Project MinE; American ALS Association; National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Australia led the world in the achievement of woman's suffrage and the nation's cultural history reflects this ambitious and progressive atmosphere. The impressive achievements of suffrage feminists in Australian theatre, however, are an untold story, as is their contribution to the development of international women's theatre of the time. A Splendid Adventure brings these experiences and experiments to light through a group biography exploring the theatrical careers of Katharine Susannah Prichard, Stella Miles Franklin, and Inez Isabel Bensusan. Chosen because of their expatriate involvement in the women's movement, their international profile as enfranchised Australian women, and their exceptional contribution to both the development of Australian drama and international feminist theatre, these women embody the energies and passions of Australian suffrage playwrights. The biographies of these major figures are accompanied by the dramatic stories of the New Women playwrights, the theatrical endeavours of women university students, and a consideration of international feminist theatre on tour in Australia, including the work of migrant suffragette Adela Pankhurst. The volume also includes the full text of a play by each playwright. Australian suffrage playwrights emerge from this study as exceptional feminists, expatriates, and theatre workers, whose «splendid adventures» have considerable implications for international women's theatre, feminist dramatic criticism, and Australian theatre historiography.

Australia led the world in the achievement of woman's suffrage and the nation's cultural history reflects this ambitious and progressive atmosphere. The impressive achievements of suffrage feminists in Australian theatre, however, are an untold story, as is their contribution to the development of international women's theatre of the time. A Splendid Adventure brings these experiences and experiments to light through a group biography exploring the theatrical careers of Katharine Susannah Prichard, Stella Miles Franklin, and Inez Isabel Bensusan. Chosen because of their expatriate involvement in the women's movement, their international profile as enfranchised Australian women, and their exceptional contribution to both the development of Australian drama and international feminist theatre, these women embody the energies and passions of Australian suffrage playwrights. The biographies of these major figures are accompanied by the dramatic stories of the New Women playwrights, the theatrical endeavours of women university students, and a consideration of international feminist theatre on tour in Australia, including the work of migrant suffragette Adela Pankhurst. The volume also includes the full text of a play by each playwright. Australian suffrage playwrights emerge from this study as exceptional feminists, expatriates, and theatre workers, whose «splendid adventures» have considerable implications for international women's theatre, feminist dramatic criticism, and Australian theatre historiography.

This creative non-fiction essay is from a book in progress, a parenting memoir called ‘Hunting Flowers’. The edge with this memoir is that is written honestly in the (guilty) voice of a female academic who has 'run away' from home for work far too often - and gets into too much trouble, both at home and away. It covers two decades, five children, four continents, a few husbands, and more universities than sensible in any one life. Absent Without Leave in particular uses the confessional voice to tells stories not only against the self, but against the larger dramatis persona, the institutions and people we work with and for. The main thematic concern - is it ethical, this hunt for success, when we absent ourselves form our children? - is swallowed by the constant feminist nag: is this the only way to do it?

This is a memoir of a woman turning 50 who forgot to have a party. It takes you on road trips, into psych wards, into the chambers of marriage and through epic failures, brilliant ideas and back to kingdoms of chaos and castles of hilarity. There’s a lot of bitching and loving, a lot of fights and great nights. It’s Orwellian in its frank and unforgiving expedition through life’s hardships and glories. If you thought you needed Little Golden Books when you were young then think no more about trading up to the solid gold of The Screaming Middle: the novel cure we all need.

Recent years have the seen the call for a melding of the humanities with biomedicine in the quasi-discipline of the medical humanities. The forging of such partnerships offers authority, status and utility for disciplines like creative writing. We will argue, however, for caution. We identify two different strands within the medical humanities: the critical and the paramedical. The first strand requires disciplinary autonomy to carry out its task effectively. The second strand, however, often becomes subservient to biomedicine, asset-stripped for what is useful. We describe two case studies in the paramedical humanities where this process has occurred: the ‘Creative Writing and General Practitioner Wellbeing’ project, which used reflective writing to augment professional medical training and practice, with a view to enhancing GP wellbeing; and a description of a literature workshop facilitated by a medical practitioner for a medical humanities retreat in the United Kingdom. We argue that the problems identified are inherent to the paramedical humanities, a product, no less, of the history of biomedicine. Finally, we conclude that biomedicine needs the humanities, but not the medical humanities. Creative writing and other humanities disciplines should maintain their autonomy and, therefore, their integrity.