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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
Tue Jan 01 2019
Journal Name
Marine And Petroleum Geology
Geophysical evidence for structurally-controlled, authigenic carbonate cementation in the Laminaria High, Bonaparte basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia
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Publication Date
Sun Oct 05 2025
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
The effect of ER: YAG laser on enamel resistance to caries during orthodontic treatment: An in vitro study
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Background: One common undesirable side effect of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances is the development of incipient caries lesions around brackets, particularly in patients with poor oral hygiene. Different methods have been used to prevent demineralization; the recent effort to improve the resistance against the demineralization is by the application of lasers. Materials and method: Thirty human premolars extracted for orthodontic purposes were used to test the effect of two energy level of ER-YAG laser on enamel resistance to demineralization. The brackets were bonded on the teeth and all the labial surface excluding 2 mm area gingival to the brackets were painted with acid resistance varnish. Three groups were generated. The fi

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Publication Date
Mon Mar 28 2022
Journal Name
Journal Of Physical Education
The Effect of Using a Teaching Aid on Learning Backswing to Handstand on Rings in Youth Artistic Gymnastics
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               The research aimed at designing a teaching aid for learning backswing into handstand as well as identifying its effect on learning skill performance. The researchers hypothesized statistical differences between pre and post-tests in favor of the research group. They used the experimental method on six (13 – 16) year–old Baghdad club gymnasts. The researchers used the one group design in which all players perform pretests followed by special tests on the teaching aid than are tested posttests. The researchers conclude that the teaching aid positively affected learning the skill as well as the teaching aid was very good and endured the performance of all gymnasts. The researcher recommended making simi

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Publication Date
Fri Jul 24 2020
Journal Name
Al-kindy College Medical Journal
The Functional Results of Surgical Percutaneous Joystick Reduction Therapy for Isolated Severely Angulated Radial Neck Fracture in Children
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Background: Radial neck fractures in children account for 5 to 10% of all elbow fractures in children. They are extra-articular fractures of the radius proximal to the bicipital tuberosity. The physis is typically involved as a Salter-Harris I or II pattern. Alternatively, the fracture sometimes is extraphyseal, through the metaphysis. In children there is considerable potential for remodeling after these fractures. Up to 30° of radial head tilt and up to 3 mm of transverse displacement are acceptable. Many modalities of treatment are available regarding Surgical &Non-Surgical treatments. Objectives: To evaluate the functional outcome after surgical percutaneous joystick reduction therapy of severely angulated radial neck fracture i

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Publication Date
Fri Jan 01 2021
Journal Name
Aip Conference Proceedings
Preliminary study of the insulin growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) level in Iraqi women with breast cancer
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Here, a high sensitive method for biomarker identification according to nanostructure, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), called Nano-ELISA, was presented. Different shapes of gold nanostructures (star and sphere; GNSs and GNPs) with a particle size of 40 nm for sphere particles were altered with a monoclonal antibody (Ab) as a detector Ab. To amplify the optical signal, gold nanostructures were employed as carriers of the signaling specific antibody against insulin growth factor binding protein- 3 (IGFBP-3). The substrate was catalytically oxidized by the Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) conjugated gold nanostructure, and HRP also enhanced the optical signals, reflecting the amount of the targeting IGFBP-3. In comparison to t

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Publication Date
Thu Jun 20 2030
Journal Name
Al-kindy College Medical Journal
The Functional Results of Surgical Percutaneous Joystick Reduction Therapy for Isolated Severely Angulated Radial Neck Fracture in Children
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Background: Radial neck fractures in children account for 5 to 10% of all elbow fractures in children. They are extra-articular fractures of the radius proximal to the bicipital tuberosity. The physis is typically involved as a Salter-Harris I or II pattern. Alternatively, the fracture sometimes is extraphyseal, through the metaphysis. In children there is considerable potential for remodeling after these fractures. Up to 30° of radial head tilt and up to 3 mm of transverse displacement are acceptable. Many modalities of treatment are available regarding Surgical &Non-Surgical treatments. Objectives: To evaluate the functional outcome after surgical percutaneous joystick reduction therapy of severely angulated radial neck fracture i

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Publication Date
Fri Aug 01 2014
Journal Name
Int. J. Mod. Eng. Res
Exact solutions for MHD flow of a viscoelastic fluid with the fractional Burgers’ model in an annular pipe
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This paper presents an analytical study for the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a generalized Burgers’ fluid in an annular pipe. Closed from solutions for velocity is obtained by using finite Hankel transform and discrete Laplace transform of the sequential fractional derivatives. Finally, the figures are plotted to show the effects of different parameters on the velocity profile.

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Publication Date
Thu Dec 15 2022
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
Experimental In vitro Study to Assess the Antibacte-rial Activity of Thymus vulgaris Oil on Streptococ-cus Sanguinis
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Background: The Streptococcus genus are the predominant bacteria in the mouth and the Streptococcus sanguinis is one of them which performing a primary function for expansion of dental biofilm. Gingival and periodontal disorders are caused by dental biofilm, today, there is a necessity to discover naturally presenting antibacterial compounds from herbs with less side effects as a substitutive to the commonly handled chlorohexidine. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the antibacterial activity of thymus vulgaris oil on Streptococcus sanguinis bacteria In vitro. Materials and Methods: Human supragingival plaque samples were taken from 10 subjects, then morphological and microscopical examination, bioch

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Publication Date
Sun Jan 01 2023
Journal Name
Aip Conference Proceedings
New record of the genus Parapiophila Hendel, 1917 (Diptera, Piophilidae) from Kerbala city, Iraq, study in forensic entomology
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Publication Date
Sat Mar 02 2019
Journal Name
World Heart Journal
Assessment of the Left Ventricular Mass (LVM) among Patients with Diabetes in Relation to Age Using Doppler Echocardiography
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Background: Diabetes mellitus a major factor that has adverse effects on the vascular system and the heart. It causes an increase in cardiac muscle thickness, resulting in decreased compliance and increased peripheral arterial stiffness. This study aims to assess the left ventricular mass (LVM) and left ventricular hemodynamic changes in diabetic patients measured by Doppler echocardiography. Patients and Methods: The study included 50 diabetic patients ranging in age between 25 and 80 years, (mean age: 54.1 ± 15.10, 19 males, 31 females) and 50 healthy subjects, aged 25 to 80 years (mean age: 48.52 ± 14.45, 11 males, 39 females). Doppler echocardiography was used to assess left ventricular function. The measurements included

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