Haruki Murakami (1949-present) is a contemporary Japanese writer whose works have been translated into fifty languages and won him plenty of Japanese and international awards. His short stories are well constructed in a weird realistic manner and are mixed with elements of surrealism. His novels and short stories fall under the genre of magical realism. One of the major revolving themes that Murakami wrote about was the haunting feeling of emptiness and disconnectedness in a world which seems to care much for materialism and self-interests.

    The paper explores two of Murakami’s short stories in his book After the Quake (2000) and the relevance of their themes and characters to Iraq after the q

This paper develops a nonlinear transient three-dimensional heat transfer finite element model and a rate independent three-dimensional deformation model, developed for the CO₂ laser welding simulations in Al-6061-T6 alloy. Simulations are performed using an indirect coupled thermal-structural method for the process of welding. Temperature-dependent thermal properties of Al-6061-T6, effect of latent heat of fusion, and the convective and radiative boundary conditions are included in the model. The heat input to the model is assumed to be a Gaussian heat source. The finite element code ANSYS12, along with a few FORTRAN subroutines, are employed to obtain the numerical results. The benefit of the proposed methodology is that it

The objective of investigating some biochemical parameters like urea, creatinine, Hb and other parameters as CRP and leptin in the serum of ESRD patients on hemodialysis pre-dialysis. Method: Sample of 250 cases which consists of the patient with ESRD, their mean ages were 52.66 ± 12.55 years with ranged from 18-83. Moreover, under hemodialysis treatment not less than three months. Apparently, 20 healthy subjects were selected as (control) for comparison. Results: The results showed that there was a significant increase (p<0.01) in the serum urea, creatinine, CRP, and leptin. While, revealed significant (p< 0.05) decrease in the levels of uric acid, serum glucose, albumin, inorganic phosphorus, potassium, Hb and platelet in patien

This study examines the effect of colonialism on Caribbean society during the colonial period. Through normalization, the British colonial power diminished Caribbean identity and planted a new hybrid identity. Discipline institutions and surveillance techniques had a vital role in normalizing Caribbean society. Caribbean authors have adopted this notion of normalization to represent the reality of colonialism and its consequences. George Lamming, one of the Caribbean political activist and influential novelist in his novel In the Castle of My Skin (1953), reflects normalization as theorized by Michael Foucault. Lamming depicts the story of villagers and their life under colonial domination. Through discipline institution, like school, colo

The use of antibiotics (AB) in surgery focused in either treating established infection or to prevent suspected post-operative infection. Inappropriate use of antibiotic for treatment of patients with common infections is a major problem worldwide, with great implications with regards to cost of treatment and development of resistance to the antimicrobial agent. Moreover, antibiotics may often be dispensed without a clear clinical indication. This study was conducted to estimate the medication errors in using antibiotic for surgery patients which may effect their wound healing. A 260 patients with clean-contaminated and contaminated surgery were included from two teaching hospitals, 160 patient from Medical city hospital and 100 fro

The present study was identified the type of bacterial contamination of Iraqi banknotes currency (Iraqi dinars) in circulation. 68 Iraqi banknotes currency of different denominations samples were randomly gathered from different locations and different occupational groups in Baghdad city. The results showed 61 (89.70%) of the samples were determined to be contaminated with bacteria, whereas 7 (10.29%) were confirmed to be sterile. A total of 11 different species of bacteria resulting in 72 isolates were found from those 61 contaminated Iraqi banknotes currency. Based on culture, morphological and biochemical tests, 11 isolates were identified as Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Corynebacterium diphtheria, Leu

Background: Brucellosis (Malta fever) is one of the zoonotic diseases that endemic in all the world, this disease has a history from 1937 in Iraq when the microorganism was first isolated via an Iraqi clinician.Objective: To demonstrate brucellosis infection among Iraqi provinces and reveal relationship between Brucellosis with seasons, residence place, gender and age of the patients. In addition to diagnosis of brucellosis from patients in Baghdad province suspects of infection by serological methods (Rose Bengal test) and culture method in diagnosis of brucellosis in human.Patients and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Iraqi hospitals in different Iraqi provinces. The blood sample (serum) was obtained from 1825

Background: Neonatal macrosomia is defined as a birth weight of more than 4000 g. Significant maternal and neonatal complications can result from the birth of macrosomic infants like hypoglycemia and birth injuries.Objectives: To determine the frequency of hypoglycemia in neonates with macrosomia in Amarah, IraqMethods: The study involved 146 macrosomic newborn neonates delivered in 2 maternity hospitals in Amarah, Iraq during a period from June 2011 to June 2014.Results: Hypoglycemia was observed in 16% of neonates affected by macrosomia. Maternal diabetes was the most common cause of fetal macrosomia (28%).Our results were compared with those from other parts of the world.Conclusion Macrosomia is associated with increase rate ofneonata