C. W. Marshall and G. Kovacs (eds), No Laughing Matter: Studies in Athenian Comedy (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2012)

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Stop making sense: the politics of Aristophanic madness

This paper discusses the use of madness in Aristophanic Comedy, and in particular how it is used as a means of evaluating and interrogating political interventions. The well-known theme of madness in Aristophanes's Wasps provides the frame. Interpreting Philocleon's madness has proved problematic because the complexity of comic madness has been under-estimated. Against negative models of madness that dominate in tragedy and in political discourse, madness in comedy can be not only a means of interrogating ideological and political norms, but also a constructive and even heroic form of behavior, which draws on epic and religious associations. Bdelycleon's attempt to cure his father removes the positive substance and political value that anchors his father's insanity, which leads to the aporetic finale

Carnian (Late Triassic) C-isotope excursions, environmental changes, and biotic turnover: a global perturbation of the Earth's surface system

Here we present the second part of the special thematic issue on the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE). In this issue, two works on terrestrial sedimentological and floral changes linked to the CPE, and new carbon isotope records from Oman and China are presented. The papers published in this issue complement those contained in volume 175 issue 6; they altogether give an almost complete vision of the state-of-the-art about the CPE, including the many conundrums

Moins d'heures pour plus d'emplois ?

De nombreux travaux economiques, theoriques ou empiriques, affirme qu'il est malavise de vouloir creer des emplois en reduisant la duree du travail. Le present article examine plusieurs des points cles evoques dans ces analyses. Il s'appuie d'abord sur un modele de base de la demande de travail dont la conclusion est que la diminution des horaires hebdomadaires standard entraine une reduction des emplois. Le probleme est ensuite etudie a partir d'une serie de variantes du modele, plus raffinees et plus completes.

Nanoscale characterization of energy generation from piezoelectric thin films

We report on the use of nanoindentation to characterize in situ the voltage and current generation of piezoelectric thin films. This work presents the controlled observation of nanoscale piezoelectric voltage and current generation, allowing accurate quantification and mapping of force function variations. We characterize both continuous thin films and lithographically patterned nanoislands with constrained interaction area. The influence of size on energy generation parameters is reported, demonstrating that nanoislands can exhibit more effective current generation than continuous films. This quantitative finding suggests that further research into the impact of nanoscale patterning of piezoelectric thin films may yield an improved materials platform for integrated microscale energy scavenging systems

Segregation and precipitation of Er in Ge

Although Er-doped Genanomaterials are attractive for photonic applications, very little is known about the basic properties of Er in Ge. Here, the authors study the annealing behavior of Geimplanted with keV Er ions to doses resulting in ≲1at.% of Er. Large redistribution of Er, with segregation at the amorphous/crystalline interface, starts at ≳500°C, while lower temperatures are required for material recrystallization. However, even at 400°C, Er forms precipitates. The concentration of Er trapped in the bulk after recrystallization decreases with increasing temperature but is independent of the initial bulk Er concentration for the range of ion doses studied here.Work at the ANU was supported by the ARC

In Vivo Studies on the Transcriptional and Posttranslational Regulation of the CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein Beta

The transcription factor C/EBPbeta gene has CREB responsive elements (CRE) in its promoter, and its transcription is regulated by CREB during adipogenesis. We have generated a mouse line with a deletion of the CRE elements on the C/EBPbeta promoter and stusied the role of these elements in macrophages. We show that the CREs are important for the induction of C/EBPbeta expression following treatment of the macrophages with IFNgamma/LPS. Moreover, we found two novel targets for C/EBPbeta transcription in macrophages, that are macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (Msr1) and interleukin 13 receptor alpha1 (IL13a1). We also show that the well-known regulation of the arginase 1 gene by C/EBPbeta is dependent on the ability of CREB to upregulate C/EBPbeta. FACS analyses on our bone marrow-derived macrophage population, showed that the cells are Mac1(+), F4/80(+) and Gr1(+), typical markers of Natural Suppressor macrophages. Taken together, the C/EBPbeta target genes found in the macrophage and the cell surface markers, suggest an immunosuppressive phenotype. we propose a novel role for C/EBPbeta in mediating the molecular switch fron inflammatory to immunosuppressive macrophages. In a separate project, we study the role of the Thr188 and Ser176, Ser180 and Ser184 phosphorylation sites, which are located in the regulatory domain of the C/EBPbeta protein. Thr188 is a known MAPK phosphorylation site, whereas the three serines, whether all or some, were recently shown to be targets for GSK3beta phosphorylation. We created two mouse lines in which either Thr188, or the three serines were mutated to alanines. We analyzed the expression of the mutant C/EBPbeta in various tissues, as well as the expression of C/EBPbeta target genes in primary macrophages from both the mouse lines. We found that the three serines have a role in modulating C/EBPbeta's autoregulatory loop as well as in reducing the transcription factor's transactivational activity. Moreover, based on the migration pattern of the mutant C/EBPbeta proteins, we propose a modl suggesting cooperativity between the MAPK and GSK3beta phosphorylation sites. We conclude that the phosphorylation sites in question are implicated, whether directly or indirectly, in the modulation of the transcription factor's activity

The Carnian Humid Episode of the late Triassic: a review

From 1989 to 1994 a series of papers outlined evidence for a brief episode of climate change from arid to humid, and then back to arid, during the Carnian Stage of the late Triassic Epoch. This time of climate change was compared to marine and terrestrial biotic changes, mainly extinction and then radiation of flora and fauna. Subsequently termed, albeit incorrectly, the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE) by successive authors, interest in this episode of climatic change has increased steadily, with new evidence being published as well as several challenges to the theory. The exact nature of this humid episode, whether reflecting widespread precipitation or more local effects, as well as its ultimate cause, remains equivocal. Bed-by-bed sampling of the Carnian in the Southern Alps (Dolomites) shows the episode began with a negative carbon isotope excursion that lasted for only part of one ammonoid zone (A. austriacum). However, that the Carnian Humid Episode represents a significantly longer period, both environmentally and biotically, is irrefutable. The evidence is strongest in the European, Middle Eastern, Himalayan, North American and Japanese successions, but not always so clear in South America, Antarctica and Australia. The eruption of the Wrangellia Large Igneous Province and global warming (causing increased evaporation in the Tethyan and Panthalassic oceans) are suggested as causes for the humid episode

Impurity-free seeded crystallization of amorphous silicon by nanoindentation

We demonstrate that nanoindents formed in amorphous Si films, with dimensions as small as ∼20 nm, provide a means to seed solid phase crystallization. During post-indentation annealing at ∼600 °C, solid phase crystallization initiates from the indented sites, effectively removing the incubation time for random nucleation in the absence of seeds. The seeded crystallization is studied by optical microscopy, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and electrical characterization via Hall measurements. Full crystallization can be achieved, with improved electrical characteristics attributed to the improved microstructure, using a lower thermal budget. The process is metal contaminant free and allows for selective area crystallization.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Australian Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Positron annihilation studies of the AlOₓ/SiO₂/Si interface in solar cell structures

Film and film/substrate interfacecharacteristics of 30 and 60 nm-thick AlOₓfilmsgrown on Si substrates by thermal atomic layer deposition(ALD), and 30 nm-thick AlOₓfilms by sputtering, have been probed using variable-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy (VEPAS) and Doppler-broadened spectra ratio curves. All samples were found to have an interface which traps positrons, with annealing increasing this trapping response, regardless of growth method. Thermal ALD creates an AlOₓ/SiOₓ/Si interface with positron trapping and annihilation occurring in the Si side of the SiOₓ/Si boundary. An induced positive charge in the Si next to the interface reduces diffusion into the oxides and increases annihilation in the Si. In this region there is a divacancy-type response (20 ± 2%) before annealing which is increased to 47 ± 2% after annealing.Sputtering seems to not produce samples with this same electrostatic shielding; instead, positron trapping occurs directly in the SiOₓinterface in the as-deposited sample, and the positron response to it increases after annealing as an SiO₂ layer is formed. Annealing the film has the effect of lowering the film oxygen response in all film types. Compared to other structural characterization techniques, VEPAS shows larger sensitivity to differences in film preparation method and between as-deposited and annealed samples.T-T.A.L., S.R., and A.C. acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council