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Numbness of the Mind Paradigm in Haruki Murakami’s After the Quake and Iraq’s After the Quake
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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 quake. Literally, Iraq may never have witnessed a real earthquake, but one can say its metaphorical meaning has a great implication upon the lives of its people. The reference to Iraq after the quake in this paper would focus on the aftermath of the 2003 War such as: the feeling of disconnection among people, disinclination in life, feelings of deprivation and depreciation, and the corruption of leaders and politicians. Likewise, though Murakami’s short stories chosen in this paper do not deal with the actual earthquake, its implications can be felt as we read the stories. His characters witness a sense of disconnectedness and the feeling of being unappreciated even when they do the hardest and most dangerous jobs.

    Two of Murakami’s short stories “UFO in Kushiro” and “Super Frog Saves Tokyo” are tackled to show the paradigm and comparison between the lives of these characters (that are actually a reflection of Japanese lives in mid 1990s) and the restricted depressing life of the Iraqis in the postwar era of the 2003 War. Both have experienced fragmentation, despair and lack of self-worth due to the reasons that are explained in this paper. The Iraqis however, may have experienced a deeper suffering where one can say they have reached a state of the numbness or enslavement of the mind and feelings. The paper also highlights that animosity should be dissipated from the hearts of people specifically in politicians and top leaders. Though it is a complicated world, man should conceive that the prosperity of mankind rests in his own hands. Cherishing the diversity of cultures and understanding each other’s moral principles are the means to diminish evil in order to reach the desired bliss.

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Publication Date
Mon Jul 07 2025
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
The Effect of LED Light on Depth of Cure and Microhardness of Three Types of Bulkfill Composite
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Background: To evaluate the ISO depth of cure of bulkfill composites and depth of cure which determined by Vickers microhardness test. Materials and Methods: Bulkfill resin composite specimens (n=150) were prepared of three bulkfill composite materials (TetricEvo Ceram, Quixfil and SDR) and light cured by Flash max p3 for 3, 10, 20 seconds and by wood pecker for 10, 20 seconds respectively, a mold was filled with one of the three bulkfill composites and light cured. The specimens removed from the mold and scraped by plastic spatula and the remaining length (absolute length) was measured which represent the ISO depth of cure. After that the specimens were returned into the mold and a microhardness indentation device applied on the specimen

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Publication Date
Fri Jan 24 2020
Journal Name
Iraqi Journal Of Agricultural Sciences
THE EFFECT OF TERMITES EXTRACT ON INHIBITION OF GROWTH OF SOME PATHOGENIC BACTERIA AND SYNTHESIS OF BIOFILM
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This study was aimed to extract the effective material from the dry nests of termites and detect its antibacterial activity against some pathogenic bacterial isolates and inhibit synthesis of its biofilm. Termites dry nests were collected and the effective material was extracted then the antibacterial activity was detected using the disc diffusion assay. Results were showed that the extract have antibacterial material from the Termites dry nests, this extract showed antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) at (21.5mm) and Gram negative bacteria ( Enterobacter sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) at (26 mm and 20 mm) respectively by inhibiting their growth, as well as its effect on biofilm production o

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Publication Date
Thu Apr 14 2016
Journal Name
Iraqi Journal Of Market Research And Consumer Protection
Study The Effect of α-amylase Inhibitors Isolated from Plant Sources on Some Mold.: Study The Effect of α-amylase Inhibitors Isolated from Plant Sources on Some Mold.
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Activity test of the inhibitors purified from barley and broad beans crop proved the inhibition activity against 6 types of rots Pencillium ssp and Aspergellusflavus and Aspergillus niger and Fusarium solani and Fusarium semitectum and Mucor with three concentrations 0.1 and 0.2 and 0.3 mg/ml, where the inhibitor purified from the second peak of broad beans proved that it had a higher inhibition activity against the growth of test rots which were 53.75 and 62.5 and 78.5 and 76.25 and 84 and 18.8% respectively, at 0.3 mg/ ml followed by the first peak of the inhibitor purified from broad beans the inhibition activity were 43.75 and 50 and 62.96 and 75 and 80 and 12.5 then the inhibitor purified from barley in which the inhibition activity

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Publication Date
Fri Dec 01 2023
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Determining ACE-2 Level and Some Relevant Biochemical Parameters and studying the effect of Gender in Iraqi Diabetic Patients with Glomeruli and Renal Tubules Fibrosis as Early Prediction Marker
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     Diabetic kidney disease is an illness of the glomerulus that interferes with the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB), which is worked to enable kidney to selective purification of water and solutes in addition to limiting the movement of large macromolecules such as albumin. In the glomerular endothelium, mesangial cells, foot cells, and the brush border of the proximal tubules, ACE-2 is expressed and that the kidneys represent the highest-expressing region of this enzyme. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate ACE-2 level in this case compared to healthy condition. The study Conducted with 120 male and female ranging in age (30-65) years old. Ninety patients with type 2 diabetes subdivided into three groups on the basis of A

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Publication Date
Sun Sep 01 2013
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Isolation of some active materials and aqueous, alcoholic and oil seed extracts of the plant (Curcuma longa (and study Antibacterial and anticancer activity
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This study included isolation of some active materials from Curcuma longa such as tannins, saponins and volatile oils with percentage of 59%, 31%, and 9% respectively. Also the study included the determination of minerals in Curcuma longa such as " Na, Ca and K" using Flame photometer. The concentrations of these minerals were (14 ppm),(10 ppm) and )76 ppm) respectively. The anti-bacterial activity study was performed for the active materials isolated from Curcuma longa against two genus of pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aurous by using agar-well diffusion method. It appeared from this study that all of the extraction have inhibitory effect on bacteria was used. The inhibition zone diameter varies with

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Publication Date
Sun Apr 14 2024
Journal Name
Plant Archives (09725210)
Effect of addition of organic and chemical fertilization and spraying of alpha tocopherol on the growth and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum mill.).
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Publication Date
Wed Apr 01 2020
Journal Name
Journal Of Economics And Administrative Sciences
REVIEWING THE IMPLICATIONS OF TRAINING FOR ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION STAFF AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
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Training has an effect on employees’ performances. Accordingly, the person who is responsible for employees’ development must figure out the most effective way to train and develop employees. Central Michigan University (CMU) has recognized the importance of providing appropriate training for employees who have a duty in advising students. The reason is that these employees have a significant impact on students’ educational performances. Thus, special attention to this category of employees is needed to improve advising quality. This research attempted to explore the impact of training on academic advising at CMU. Face-to-face interviews and online surveys were used as data collection tools for this study. The study scope c

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Publication Date
Mon Jul 07 2025
Journal Name
مجلة العميد
Portryal of Imam Ali (Peace be upon him) in the Poetry of Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed Al-Mo`atazali : Seventh `Alawiat Poems
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For poets to pay a great attention to the Islamic figures and their symbolism in Islam come as a prominent phenomenon in our literature . As there is an impact of them on the brilliant history commemorated by littérateurs . As a matter of fact ، the chronicle of Imam Ali Ibin Abi Talib (peace be upon him) falls in the orbit of the focus Ibn Abi Al-Hadid Al-Mu'tazili steers to in his poems . The current research study is to trace the portrayal of Imam Ali (peace be upon them) in the poetry of Ibn Abi Al-Hadid Al-Mu'tazili ، Seventh Alwiite Poems ، as there is no a study tacking such a conjecture before. In the article there are two axes : the introduction comes as first axis portraying Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) in the wa

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Publication Date
Mon Jun 28 2021
Journal Name
Journal Of The College Of Education For Women
Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers between Communication and Pragmatics:Qualitative Approach in Light of the Common European Framework of Reference for Teaching Foreign Languages: هداية تاج الأصفياء حسن البصري
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This research is qualitative in nature. It aims to investigate descriptively, analytically, and comparatively the modern AK model represented by the Sudan Open University Series, and the European framework, the common reference for Teaching Foreign Languages, to uncover what was achieved in them in terms of communication and language use. Accordingly, an integrated, multi-media approach has been adopted to enable the production and reception activities, and the spread of Arabic in vast areas of the world. Such a spread helps Arabic language to be in a hegemonic position with the other living languages. The study is based on getting benefit from human experiences and joint work in the field of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers to mee

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Publication Date
Sat Dec 02 2023
Journal Name
International Journal Of Applied Engineering & Technology
ASSESSING THE CONCENTRATIONS OF SOME HEAVY METALS IN BLOOD SAMPLES OF CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS IN BAGHDAD CITY
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