Bangor University Research Articles

Field observations of Easter weather on Snowdon from 1969 to 2010

AbstractStudents from Bangor University made weather observations on the slopes of Snowdon in their Easter holidays from 1969 to 2010. The air temperature decreased with altitude at a rate of about 10 degCkm−1, close to the dry adiabatic lapse rate, although the gradient was less when raining. Water temperatures also decreased with height but wind speeds, on average, increased. The eastern flank of the mountain was noticeably wetter and less windy than the north. Over the four decades, air temperatures increased by an average of 1.6 degC, equivalent to the mountain shrinking by 160m, based on the observed lapse rate.

Net Zero requires ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions on beef and sheep farms coordinated with afforestation and other land use change measures

CONTEXTThe UK Climate Change Committee has recommended a 64% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture and land-use sector to meet the 2050 Net Zero target in the UK. However, it is unclear how this reduction can be achieved at a farm level. OBJECTIVEUsing detailed real farm data and novel modelling approaches, we investigated the management interventions and afforestation that would be required to deliver Net Zero within the farm boundary. METHODSBaseline carbon footprints were calculated for twenty Welsh beef and sheep farms using the Agrecalc carbon calculator, whilst carbon sequestration was estimated using Bangor University's Carbon Footprinting Tool. Scenarios were created to determine the emissions reductions achievable on each farm through implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures. Mitigation measures and their abatement potentials were sourced from the most recent UK Marginal Abatement Cost Curve, which allow emissions to be reduced mostly through improvements in efficiency thus maintaining the production of the system. Area footprints were calculated for production, with and without offset (afforested) areas needed to achieve Net Zero. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONEmission reductions following the implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures averaged 28% across all farms, ranging from 19 to 35%. The woodland needed to offset the remaining emissions to achieve Net Zero ranged from 8 to 85% of the farm area, with an average 38%. This offset area was equivalent to on average 17.4 m2.yr kg−1 deadweight (carcass weight). Apparent area efficiency decreased when the offset area was accounted for, however, the ranking of farms in terms of efficiency was largely unaffected. Mitigation scenarios rely on several assumptions and these need to be refined to accurately inform Net Zero pathways. SIGNIFICANCEBased on the results for these study farms, our modelling indicates that even after implementation of ambitious mitigation across beef and sheep farms, large-scale land use change will be required to achieve Net Zero at an individual farm-level. However, this reform could lead to the unintended consequence of displacing production to less efficient systems and increase overall emissions.Instead, we advocate a combined approach of carbon and land footprints that could help to identify farms on which either food production or carbon removals should be prioritised to move the industry towards achieving Net Zero at a sectoral, regional or national level.

First Author Highlights

AnnouncementFirst Author HighlightsPublished Online:19 May 2023https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.2023.324.5.AUMoreSectionsPDF (362 KB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations DANIELLE L. KIRKMANDepartment of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United StatesFigure 1.Danielle KirkmanDownload figureDownload PowerPointDanielle Kirkman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. She received her PhD in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Bangor University in Wales before completing her postdoctoral fellowship in vascular physiology at the University of Delaware. Her research is focused on applied, integrative physiology at the nexus of cardiovascular and renal health. As an exercise physiologist by training, a large body of her work has investigated the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of exercise in patients across the spectrum of kidney diseases. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors [Photo: Fig. 1].https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00046.2023FERNANDO MARMOLNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United StatesFigure 2.Fernando MarmolDownload figureDownload PowerPointFernando Marmol is a research scholar at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, mentored by Dr. Daniel Batlle. He is an International Medical Graduate MD from Ecuador. His research interests focus on acid-base and electrolyte disorders as well as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and its potential therapeutic use. Like Dr. Batlle, he is a fan of the soccer team Barcelona FC. Away from the laboratory bench, he loves practicing basketball, soccer, and cycling. He is pursuing becoming a nephrologist [Photo: Fig. 2].https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00312.2022LINDSEY A. RAMIREZDepartment of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, United StatesFigure 3.Lindsey RamirezDownload figureDownload PowerPointLindsey Ramirez completed her PhD in Physiology at Augusta University under the mentorship of Jennifer Sullivan. In 2022, she successfully defended with distinction. In her doctoral laboratory, she studied the role of inflammation in mediating high-fat diet-induced changes in adiposity and blood pressure. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Elizabeth Glover at the University of Illinois in Chicago, IL. In her current role, she is investigating the neural mechanisms that mediate aversion to ethanol. She enjoys learning about true crime, collecting rocks, and various crafts such as sewing, knitting, and crocheting [Photo: Fig. 3].https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00308.2022YU TAODepartment of Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas, United StatesFigure 4.Yu TaoDownload figureDownload PowerPointYu Tao is a PhD student in the Integrative Physiology Department in the University of North Texas Health Science Center, mentored by Dr. Rong Ma. She got her MS from Wuhan University, China. Her research focused on the podocyte and mesangial cell physiology in diabetic kidney disease. She enjoys cooking, baking, and hiking in her spare time [Photo: Fig. 4].https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00297.2022This article has no references to display. Download PDF Previous Back to Top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation Related ArticlesCall for Papers: Exercise and the kidneys in health and disease 27 Apr 2023American Journal of Physiology-Renal PhysiologyFecal ammonium in mice with CKD: gastrointestinal sequestration by sodium zirconium cyclosilicate 02 May 2023American Journal of Physiology-Renal PhysiologyPerinatal intermittent hypoxia increases early susceptibility to ANG II-induced hypertension in adult male but not in female Sprague–Dawley rats 27 Apr 2023American Journal of Physiology-Renal PhysiologyStore-operated Ca2+ entry inhibition ameliorates high glucose and ANG II-induced podocyte apoptosis and mitochondrial damage 27 Apr 2023American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology More from this issue > Volume 324Issue 5May 2023Pages i-ii Crossmark Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2023 the American Physiological Society.https://doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.2023.324.5.AUPubMed37204405History Published online 19 May 2023 Published in print 1 May 2023 Metrics

Human Rights In Childbearing 9. Framing Human Rights Within A Concept-Based Midwifery Curriculum

The new NMC standards for midwifery education present a challenge for midwifery educators in the UK as midwifery students are required to qualify with additional skills and competencies, as well as have the skills, knowledge and proficiencies to ensure inclusivity for each individual that accesses midwifery and maternity care. It is extremely challenging to prepare students for each and every practice scenario that they will encounter. The midwifery education team at Bangor University are utilising a concept-based pedagogical approach commonly used for health care education in North America

Bilingual phonological interaction: Cross-language process transfer in code-switching

Bilinguals challenge the boundaries of languages’ distinct grammars – including their phonological systems and phonological processes – but the impact of code-switching on the challenging of these boundaries is not fully understood. The current study explores the interaction between adult bilinguals’ two phonological systems by investigating the effects of code-switching on the cross-language transfer of phonological processes. I investigate two main questions: 1) Can a bilingual speaker cross-linguistically transfer phonological processes (promotion) or the lack of particular processes (inhibition) in a code-switching context?; and 2) Do code switches affect the degree and/or frequency of these cross-language influences? To answer these questions, I examine the /t/ → [ɾ] tapping process of English and /d/ → [ð] spirantization process of Spanish. Data was collected from the Miami Corpus (Bangor University). Results indicate that phonological processes and the lack of particular processes can transfer cross-linguistically in code-switching contexts, and these transfers can be realized through phonetically gradient and, occasionally, categorical effects. Results also indicate that code switches can indeed affect the nature of these cross-language phonological processes transfers. These results suggest that code-switching can motivate the interaction between a bilingual’s two phonological systems and offer insight into the nature of phonological systems’ boundaries.

Hydrogen Retrofit for Prince MADOG UK Research Ship

A UK consortium will equip Bangor University’s Prince Madog research vessel with a hydrogen-electric hybrid propulsion system.

Serum vascular endothelial growth factor is a potential biomarker for acute mountain sickness.

Background: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the most common disease caused by hypobaric hypoxia (HH) in high-altitude (HA) associated with high mortality when progressing to high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and/or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE). There is evidence for a role of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in development of AMS, but biological pathways and molecular mechanisms underlying AMS remain elusive. We aimed to measure changes in blood cytokine levels and their possible association with the development of AMS. Method: 15 healthy mountaineers were included into this prospective clinical trial. All participants underwent baseline normoxic testing with venous EDTA blood sampling at the Bangor University in United Kingdom (69m). The participants started from Beni at an altitude of 869m and trekked same routes in four groups the Dhaulagiri circuit in the Nepali Himalaya. Trekking a 14-day route, the mountaineers reached the final HA of 5,050m at the Hidden Valley Base Camp (HVBC). Venous EDTA blood sampling was performed after active ascent to HA the following morning after arrival at 5,050m (HVBC). A panel of 21 cytokines, chemokines and growth factors were assessed using Luminex system (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-1ra, sIL-2Rα, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, IP-10, G-CSF, GM-CSF, EGF, FGF-2, VEGF, and TGF-β1). Results: There was a significant main effect for the gradual ascent from sea-level (SL) to HA on nearly all cytokines. Serum levels for TNF-α, sIL-2Rα, G-CSF, VEGF, EGF, TGF-β1, IL-8, MCP-1, MIP-1β, and IP-10 were significantly increased at HA compared to SL, whereas levels for IFN-γ and MIP-1α were significantly decreased. Serum VEGF was higher in AMS susceptible versus AMS resistant subjects (p < 0.027, main effect of AMS) and increased after ascent to HA in both AMS groups (p < 0.011, main effect of HA). Serum VEGF increased more from SL values in the AMS susceptible group than in the AMS resistant group (p < 0.049, interaction effect). Conclusion: Cytokine concentrations are significantly altered in HA. Within short interval after ascent, cytokine concentrations in HH normalize to values at SL. VEGF is significantly increased in mountaineers suffering from AMS, indicating its potential role as a biomarker for AMS.

ECR Spotlight – Grace Rogerson

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology during our centenary year, but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Grace Rogerson is an author on ‘ Incubation temperature alters stripe formation and head colouration in American alligator hatchlings and is unaffected by E2-induced sex reversal’, published in JEB. Grace is an undergraduate integrated Master's student in Biology in the lab of Dr John Mulley at Bangor University, UK, working in the field of developmental biology.

Pre-registration midwifery

Emma Davies and Davie Morgan from Health Education and Improvement Wales discuss the successful recommissioning of Bangor University's pre-registration midwifery programme

The Janáček Compendium by Nigel Simeone

Reviewed by: The Janáček Compendium by Nigel Simeone James Michael Floyd The Janáček Compendium. By Nigel Simeone. (Boydell Composer Compendium Series.) Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell, 2019. [xvi, 284 p. ISBN 9781783273379 (hardcover), $29.95; ISBN 9781787445086 (e-book), price varies.] Photographs, facsimiles, illustrations, works list, bibliography. "One of the greatest and most original composers of the early twentieth century," reads the back cover of this book, "Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) occupied a pre-eminent position in Moravian culture, not only as a composer but also as a folksong collector, journalist, educator and nationalist." The Janáček Compendium is the work of Nigel Simeone, musicologist and conductor formerly at Bangor University and Sheffield University in the UK, who presently might be described as an independent music professional. Simeone's interest in Czech music, specifically the works of Janáček, began at a young age. "My own discovery of Janáček," Simeone explains, "began when I was a teenager, not only with recordings but also with three live performances that made a lasting impression" (p. xv)—namely, Glagolitic Mass in 1970, The Cunning Little Vixen in 1972, and Kát'a Kabanová in 1973. "Once I got to university," he continues, "adolescent enthusiasm for Janáček developed into scholarly curiosity as well" (p. xv). Indeed, Simeone's previous publications—The First Editions of Leoš Janáček: A Bibliographical Catalogue with Reproductions of Title Pages (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1991), Janáček's Works: A Catalogue of the Music and Writings of Leoš Janáček (with John Tyrrell and Alena Němcová [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997]), as well as a collection of essays devoted to a conductor who advocated for the performance of Janáček's music in England and the United States (Nigel Simeone and John Tyrrell, eds., Charles Mackerras [Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell, 2015])—are carefully placed within the world of the published Janáček literature outlined in the introduction. "This Compendium," notes Jiří Zahrádka, curator of the Janáček Archive in Brno, Czech Republic, "represents a book that has been conspicuously absent from the Janáček literature" (back cover). The Janáček Compendium, well researched and relatively free of errors, is organized into four sections: biography, dictionary, list of works, and bibliography. The biography is introductory in nature and spans six pages, briefly discussing Janáček's music education, his interest in folk music, and some of his major compositions. The largest section is the dictionary. It comprises 238 pages with more than 275 subject entries. Entries include composers, conductors, musicologists, musicians, performing groups, writers, publishers, students, friends and family, and many other individuals important to Janáček's life and career. Also included are a few modern scholars "whose work has enriched our knowledge of Janáček and shed new light on his life and work" (p. xv). One of these is Tyrrell, with whom Simeone cowrote and coedited two books, and to whom the compendium is dedicated in memoriam. Tyrrell, a renowned musicologist, was awarded honorary doctorates for his work on Janáček by the Masaryk University (2002) and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (2012), both located in Janáček's hometown of Brno. Before publication, as Simeone explains, Tyrrell was available to read "all of the entries in the Dictionary and his comments were, as always, illuminating and exceptionally helpful" (p. xv). Some of the dictionary's lengthier entries are for Janáček's musical works, including "all his major works and [End Page 415] many of the lesser ones" (p. xiv). For example, the author generously provides pertinent information about each of Janáček's operas as well as a detailed synopsis of each scene. Works that are not listed in the dictionary are often Janáček's early works composed before 1900. When revising the compendium, if space allows, perhaps compositions can be added to further the research on lesser-known works of the composer. The dictionary also includes entries for aspects of Janáček's life and career, examples of which include "Conducting, Janáček's," "Correspondence," "Editions, Critical and Scholarly," "Facsimiles," "Folksong Editions," "London Visit," and "Unfinished Works." The entries, along with the introductory biography, reveal many facets...

Holistic Legal Support for Litigants in Person: The North and Mid Wales Law Clinic Partnership

In 2020 the Access to Justice Foundation and Ministry of Justice launched the Legal Support for Litigants in Person (LSLIP) Grant, a two-year programme funding a range of earlier intervention services for litigants in person. Eleven projects were funded to deliver advice on a national, regional, and local scale, to litigants in person at different stages of their problem in various areas of civil and family law. Partnership working and earlier intervention were central to these activities, to achieve improved outcomes for clients. One such project became known as the North and Mid Wales Law Clinic (NMWLC), including seven Local Citizens Advice (CA) branches (six in North Wales plus Powys in Mid Wales) and Bangor University. The NMWLC delivers a service to support Litigants in Person (LiP) at every stage of their journey, providing generalist holistic advice designed to identify LiPs early on, preventing escalation of their legal problems, reducing financial hardship, and resolving issues with information to support self-help. The partnership provides generalist advice, and specialist advice and casework in the areas of Family Law, Employment Law, and Powers of Attorney and Deputyship (the latter being areas where local demand was identified by CA and partners). Through the project law students are supported to train as General Advisers and to assist specialist advisers and caseworkers. The project provided a unique way to develop clinical legal education (CLE), not least as it commenced fully online during the Covid-19 pandemic, focused on preventing escalation of legal problems, including through triage and partnership, and occurred in a small law department where existing provision (aside from in criminal law) was largely based on simulated activity. This article evaluates the first two years of the NMWLC from a CLE perspective, focusing on the experiences of student volunteers, exploring the challenges and opportunities of online working, and how the initiative fits with CLE models.

Quantifying uncertainty about how interventions are assigned would improve impact evaluation in conservation: reply to Rasolofoson 2022.

Conservation BiologyVolume 36, Issue 6 e14007 COMMENT Quantifying uncertainty about how interventions are assigned would improve impact evaluation in conservation: reply to Rasolofoson 2022 Julia Patricia Gordon Jones, Corresponding Author Julia Patricia Gordon Jones [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-5199-3335 School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Bangor University, Bangor, UK Correspondence Julia Patricia Gordon Jones, School of Natural Sciences, College of Engineering and Environmental Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMegan Barnes, Megan Barnes orcid.org/0000-0002-8300-0975 Centre for Environment and Economic Policy, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorJohanna Eklund, Johanna Eklund orcid.org/0000-0003-1263-8151 Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandSearch for more papers by this authorPaul J. Ferraro, Paul J. Ferraro orcid.org/0000-0002-4777-5108 Carey Business School and Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USASearch for more papers by this authorJonas Geldmann, Jonas Geldmann orcid.org/0000-0002-1191-7610 Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this authorJohan A. Oldekop, Johan A. Oldekop orcid.org/0000-0003-0565-812X Global Development Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UKSearch for more papers by this authorJudith Schleicher, Judith Schleicher orcid.org/0000-0001-7817-4295 Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKSearch for more papers by this author Julia Patricia Gordon Jones, Corresponding Author Julia Patricia Gordon Jones [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-5199-3335 School of Natural Sciences, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Bangor University, Bangor, UK Correspondence Julia Patricia Gordon Jones, School of Natural Sciences, College of Engineering and Environmental Science, Bangor University, Bangor, UK. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMegan Barnes, Megan Barnes orcid.org/0000-0002-8300-0975 Centre for Environment and Economic Policy, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorJohanna Eklund, Johanna Eklund orcid.org/0000-0003-1263-8151 Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandSearch for more papers by this authorPaul J. Ferraro, Paul J. Ferraro orcid.org/0000-0002-4777-5108 Carey Business School and Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USASearch for more papers by this authorJonas Geldmann, Jonas Geldmann orcid.org/0000-0002-1191-7610 Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this authorJohan A. Oldekop, Johan A. Oldekop orcid.org/0000-0003-0565-812X Global Development Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UKSearch for more papers by this authorJudith Schleicher, Judith Schleicher orcid.org/0000-0001-7817-4295 Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 September 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14007 Article Impact statement: We agree with Rasolofoson and encourage exploration of the biases introduced due to incomplete understanding of treatment assignment. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume36, Issue6December 2022e14007 RelatedInformation

Effects of an e-health intervention ‘iSupport’ for reducing distress of dementia carers: protocol for a randomised controlled trial and feasibility study

IntroductionIn the UK, National Health Service (NHS) guidelines recommend that informal carers of people living with dementia should be offered training to help them develop care skills and manage their...

INSIGHT: Evaluation of the Year Four Psychological Medicine Student Placements at HMP Berwyn, North Wales

AimsBackground: Although social determinants of health (SDOH) are to some extent incorporated within preclinical medical education, little validated educational methodology exists to provide guidance on how to integrate teaching about SDOH within the competency-based training of medical students’ clinical years. This is potentially important. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of SDOH, and social determinants have become topical, with increasing discussion in journals about equity, inequality, and sustainability. Sir Michael Marmot's 2020 review has highlighted these issues. Consequently, the evaluation of medical students’ experience of prison placements is an interesting area to investigate. This will help us to explore their understanding of SDOH, and implications of gained knowledge for their future practice. Aims: This study explores changes in year four psychological medicine students’ knowledge and attitude towards SDOH during prison placements.MethodsA mixed-methods study between Sep 2021 to Apr 2022 recruiting all year four medical students on their psychiatry placement in North Wales. Data collection involves baseline and mid-placement questionnaires and end-of-placement individual interviews to explore their understanding of SDOH.Thematic analysis will be used to describe students’ reflection on placement satisfaction; explore impacts on trainee doctors and supporting staff; make suggestions to improve placement structure in the future; and evaluate the utility of placements in prison.ResultsData collection is in progress. However, early indications suggest that students view these placements favourably and find them a helpful learning experience. Preliminary results will be reported at the conference.ConclusionWe are hopeful that this evaluation will suggest a way forward to raise awareness about SDOH during clinical placements and will give these students confidence in working with socially excluded populations in the future.Implication for practise, policy and researchFindings of this study may provide exploration of means of capacity building and training with improved knowledge of the SDOH in partnership between the medical school, the local health board and the prison.We have developed systems and processes to raise awareness of social factors to be considered by medical students in their future practice. These can guide further development of such placements at HMP Berwyn and in other prisons.This research was funded by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and sponsored by Bangor University in North Wales, UK.

Anthropocene and the Gothic: An Interview with Justin Edwards

&#x0D; Justin Edwards is a professor in the Division of Literature and Languages at the University of Stirling. Previously Chair of English at the University of Surrey and professor and head of English at Bangor University, he was elected by-fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge in 2005. Between 1995 and 2005, he taught at the University of Montreal and the University of Copenhagen, where he was appointed as an associate professor in 2002. He holds an Affiliate Professorship in U.S. Literature at the University of Copenhagen and in 2016-2017 he was a Fulbright scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Peer Review College for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and a Trustee of the Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA). Justin’s contribution to the study of Gothic literature started with Gothic Passages: Racial Ambiguity and the American Gothic, which examines the development of U.S. Gothic literature alongside 19th-century discourses of passing and racial ambiguity. In Gothic Canada: Reading the Spectre of a National Literature, he continued in the area by examining how collective stories about national identity and belonging tend to be haunted by artifice.&#x0D;

David Stephenson, Patronage and Power in the Medieval Welsh March: One Family's Story. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2021, xviii, 142 pp.

Abstract: A veteran research-fellow at Bangor University here offers a study which may soon be regarded as a minor classic. It is an account of the Clanvowe family and has varied points of interest. First is their rise. They come to attention with Hywel ap Meurig (d. 1281), a native Welshman who established the family fortunes in the mid-Powys region when the power of Llywelyn (d. 1282), Prince of Wales and ruler of Gwynedd, was in decline. Stephenson uses official records (petitions, correspondence, court rolls, lists of office-holders) from government and other archives (together with native genealogies) to show how, by loyal service to Mortimer and Bohun marcher lords, this Welsh family prospered in a turbulent age. Their success is instructive. In the eternal business of getting on and using circumstances to their advantage, they were experts.

Developing a conversation about identifying community needs to embrace wellbeing through social prescribing interventions: a qualitative study

BackgroundPrevious evidence suggests that co-production and co-design are effective approaches to engage stakeholders in the development and implementation of social prescribing (SP) interventions within community settings. SP initiatives can be enhanced from the outset, by drawing on stakeholder knowledge to design services that improve health and wellbeing outcomes for community members. The aim of this qualitative study was to engage with the residents of the Nantlle Valley, a rural community in North West Wales, UK, to gather perceptions regarding the need for co-design, co-produced SP interventions to meet the wellbeing needs and requirements of the community. In line with the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015, the current study also aimed to gather knowledge that would shape the sustainable development of SP interventions creating positive wellbeing outcomes for the future. MethodsA purposeful, convenience sample (n=16 in total; 12 identified as female and four identified as male) of community members (white British) who were residents of the Nantlle Valley were recruited by various means including emails and Facebook notices, and data were collected using focus groups. Drawing from the principles of citizen assembly deliberations and future design in developing sustainable strategies, a novel approach was applied to the focus groups. This included conducting two focus groups, the “Today Group” deliberated on the wellbeing of the community today, and the “Legacy Group” deliberated on the wellbeing of future generations in developing SP interventions. Ethical approval for this study was granted by Bangor University's Healthcare and Medical Sciences Academic Ethics Committee (2020–16850) on 11th January 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the participants were sent an electronic consent form to return before the focus group and their verbal consent were also recorded at the beginning of each focus group. FindingsThe focus groups were conducted online between Feb 22, and Feb 25, 2021, due to social restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the focus groups indicated a need for additional SP interventions. The Today Group discussions identified concerns such as a sense of self-enforced social exclusion among less economically privileged individuals living in the community, which has remained unaddressed for generations The Legacy Group participants expressed views that community projects would be essential to sustaining communities for future generationsin the Nantlle Valley. It was clear that unaddressed social and economic needs influencing the determinants of health had been made worse by a weakened economy due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. InterpretationHaving a co-produced design approach might empower community members to take ownership of their own community in terms of generating solidarity by having health and social services together in one wellbeing hub. The long-term thinking approach could lead community members to feel they are the guardians of the future and are responsible for instilling a desire to preserve communal endeavours for sustainable, inclusive, and cohesive communities in the NV FundingEuropean Social Fund through a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS2 East) Studentship.

A Brief History of the Anaerobic Threshold Concept

Aamer Sandoo, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.,is a senior lecturer in Cardiovascular Physiology at Bangor University, UK, and senior research fellow in the National Health Service. Dr. Sandoo’s research examines the intricate biological mechanisms that predispose certain clinical populations to cardiovascular disease. He is a renowned expert in assessments of noninvasive blood vessel function and has authored more than 45 scientific articles and presented at 24 conferences. He is passionate about teaching students of all ages about the physiological importance of exercise and advocates the concept that “exercise is medicine.” Dr. Sandoo also freely provides educational content on his popular YouTube channel, “Physiology Made Easy” (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxfslQe8hBQ3fSrC31HcZDw). In his spare time, Dr. Sandoo takes part in several sporting activities, including boxing, running, weightlifting, hiking, and motorcycling.

The Chronicles of Medieval Wales and the March: New Contexts, Studies, and Texts ed. by Ben Guy et al.

Reviewed by: The Chronicles of Medieval Wales and the March: New Contexts, Studies, and Texts ed. by Ben Guy et al. Stephen J. Joyce Guy, Ben, Georgia Henley, Owain Wyn Jones, and Rebecca Thomas, eds, The Chronicles of Medieval Wales and the March: New Contexts, Studies, and Texts ( Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, 31), Turnhout, Brepols, 2020 hardback; pp. xvi, 455; 6 b/w illustrations, 20 b/w tables; R.R.P. €80.00; ISBN 9782503583495. Based on work undertaken by the Welsh Chronicles Research Group (founded in 2014 and hosted by Bangor University), editors Ben Guy, Georgia Henley, Owain Wyn Jones, and Rebecca Thomas have collated eleven articles as a culmination of the group collaboration, including five new editions and translations of select Welsh chronicles. The articles, from a range of impressive contributors, investigate questions of local and European contexts, reception and integrity, provenance and influences, as well as publishing editions of O Oes Gwrtheyrn, the Cardiff [End Page 217] Chronicle, the Chronicle of Gregory of Caerwent, Blwydyn eiseu, and Brut Ieuan Brechfa. Part I, 'Synopses', begins with Huw Pryce's overview of chronicle writing in medieval Wales. Charting activity from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, Pryce observes key movements in perspective: the shift from Latin to the vernacular; the continued importance of the 'master narrative' of the Welsh as dispossessed Britons; and the significance of monasticism in the chronicle tradition, particularly the Cistercians. Björn Weiler subsequently places Welsh chronicle writing within a European context. He argues that common tools and traditions connected Welsh chronicle writing to a 'trans-European framework', one where chroniclers were not just copyists but questioners and amenders of annalistic material. The notion of forging history from limited sources then segues into Ben Guy's discussion of forgery in the Welsh chronicle tradition. Noting the importance of these chronicles as historical sources, he charts the problems represented by 'romantic' emendations wrought by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century figures such as Iolo Morganwg and John Williams ab Ithel, and the evolution of robust modern frameworks for interpreting the chronicle tradition. In Part II, 'Detailed Studies', Henry Gough-Cooper examines the three principal Welsh Latin annalistic chronicles: the Harleian (c. 1100), the Breviate (late thirteenth century), and the Cottonian (late thirteenth century). He argues that the Cottonian chronicle, much understudied, is critical to establishing traces of earlier chronicles from the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries. Barry Lewis examines the genealogical tract Bonedd y Saint, and its relationship with the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis in north-east Wales. In relating a genealogical entry with a similar entry in the chronicle Brenhinedd y Saesson, he posits that all extant versions of the Bonedd y Saint come from a version copied at Valle Crucis in the second half of the thirteenth century from an older clas church located further west. David Stephenson returns to Valle Crucis to propose the abbey as the site for the continuation of the chronicle of Brut y Tywysogyon in the later thirteenth century and into the fourteenth century. Part III, 'Editions', heralds the publication of five new editions and translations of select Welsh chronicles. Owyn Wyn Jones provides an edition of the O Oes Gwrtheyrn, the only chronicle to survive from medieval Gwynedd. He argues that it was composed in the second decade of the thirteenth century in the Cistercian monastery of Aberconwy and is a notable early example of the shift to the vernacular. Georgia Henley has produced a Latin edition of the early fourteenth-century CardiffChronicle and mapped its relationship with annals produced at Tewkesbury and Neath, providing an interesting map of transmission from the Welsh marches to south and north Wales. Joshua Byron Smith has constructed the first Latin edition of the Chronicle of Gregory of Caerwent, written down between 1237 and 1290 in a Benedictine abbey in Gloucester, and notable for its ambivalence to Edward's conquest of Wales. Rebecca Try has crafted an edition of a vernacular chronicle dated after 1321 (from older material), probably [End Page 218] from the Glamorgan area and termed by her as the Blwydyn eiseu. Ben Guy's contribution is a new edition of the vernacular chronicle Brut Ieuan Brechfa, written...

Stuart Egginton joins the JEB editorial team

![Graphic][1] When Stuart Egginton picked up the phone in early June 2020 and heard the voice of his old friend Hans Hoppeler, he had no idea why his colleague of four decades was calling. ‘Hans was very chatty and said how he was retiring from Journal of Experimental Biology’, recalls