The study targets exploring the similarities and differences between Iraqi and Malaysian learners of English in refusing marriage proposals. Also, it examines the favored politeness strategies that learners use to protect their interlocutors’ face, heeding both their social distance and status. Data were gathered by a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) which contained six marriage situations. Responses were analyzed based on Beebe et al.’s (1990) refusal taxonomy and Scollon et al.’s (2012) politeness system. The findings indicated that both the Iraqi and Malaysian learners preferred the indirect refusal strategies in marriage proposals, as well as the hierarchical politeness in the form of independence strategies regardless of the social status and distance between interlocutors. However, they differed in the sort of indirect strategies most frequently utilized. The Iraqi learners favored reason, regret, and non-performative statements, whilst the Malaysian learners preferred regret, non-performative statements, and reason.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonists’ therapy are expensive and has a non-responsive rate between 30% to 40% in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Genetic variation plays a vital role in the responsiveness to this type of therapy.The aim of this study is to investigate if the presence of genetic polymorphism in the TNF-α gene promoter region at locations -376 G/A (rs1800750), -806 C/T (rs4248158), and -1031 T/C (rs1799964) affects rheumatoid arthritis patient's tendency to be a non-responder to etanercept.
Eighty RA patients on etanercept (ETN) for at least six months were recruited from the Rheumatology Unit at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Based on The European League Against Rheumatism response (EULAR) criteria, patient
... Show MoreThis research was conducted to determine content levels of heavy metal pollution. Samples taken from Ishaqi River bank and adjacent agricultural soils area, in ten sites, distributed along 48 km of the Ishaqi River, north Baghdad. The evaluated metals were Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Chromium, Cadmium, Vanadium and Lead. PH and Electric Conductivity (EC) were measured to evaluate the acidity and (EC). Results showed that most site were contaminated with metals evaluated. Among these metals, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ni were consistently higher in all the samples (both river bank and adjacent soil) followed by PB, CU, V, Cd, Co and Cr. The level concentrations of river bank were almost higher than that of adjacent soil. As will be re
... Show MoreObjectives: The research aims to demonstrate the integration between Quantum Computing (QC) and Predictive Analysis (PA) and their role in reducing costs while achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study addresses the inefficiencies in calculating and measuring product costs under traditional systems and examines how QC and PA can enhance cost reduction and product quality to better meet customer needs. Additionally, the research seeks to strengthen the theoretical framework with practical applications, illustrating how this integration improves a company’s competitive position while promoting social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Methods: The study employs a descriptive analytical approach, focusi
... Show More(1) Background: Plant flavonoids are efficient in preventing and treating various diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of hesperidin, a flavonoid found in citrus fruits, in inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammation, which induced lethal toxicity in vivo, and to evaluate its importance as an antitumor agent in breast cancer. The in vivo experiments revealed the protective effects of hesperidin against the negative LPS effects on the liver and spleen of male mice. (2) Methods: In the liver, the antioxidant activity was measured by estimating the concentration of glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT), whereas in spleen, the concentration of cytokines including IL-33 and TNF-α was measured. The in vitro expe
... Show MoreMelatonin, a hormone synthesized mainly by the pineal gland, has been found in extra-pineal organs as well. It’s known as an organizer of circadian rhythms and more recently as an anti-oxidant. In addition to its role in maintaining immunity, pathophysiology of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and as an anti-cancer agent, evidence has demonstrated that melatonin exerts a positive impact on male and female fertility primarily through oxygen scavenging effects. In In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) programs, supplementation of melatonin may be associated with better outcomes in terms of sperm quality, oocyte quality, embryo quality and pregnancy rates. This review summarizes various actions of melatonin on the body focusing on ma
... Show MoreAbstract Rationality and freedom are fundamental elements of Western modernity. Although modern and contemporary Islamic thought has established its intellectual foundations on the fundamentals of intellectual thought that are at the core of its Islamic intellectual system, at the same time many of its intellectual products have been a response In spite of the fact that this Islamic intellectual response stands out from Western modernity as a negation or a positive attitude. The Islamic intellectual response differed in determining its position on Western modernity, depending on the nature of the historical stage that was The Islamic nation, as well as the nature of the challenge posed by Western civilization to other nations and other c
... Show MoreHedging is a linguistic phenomenon used to convey interpersonal messages in spoken interaction. It is a communicative strategy which enables speakers to soften the force of utterances or moderate the assertive force of utterances. It is resulted from different features such as uncertainty, doubt, tentativeness, ambiguity, neutrality, mitigation, and subjectivity. Hedging is used widely in TV debates to make utterances more acceptable to the interlocutors. Hedges are expressions used to communicate the speaker's weak commitment to information conveyed. The utterances in debates are often hedged because in an unhedged form might sound threatening to the addressees, and, therefore, be likely to be rejected.
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... Show MoreThis article is devoted to the cognitive study of ironic metonymy in Russian and Arabic. Metonymy and irony have traditionally been seen as parallel linguistic phenomena. But their formation and interpretation are based on different cognitive mechanisms. At the formal and functional level, metonymy and irony have a number of significant differences. Metonymy is an artistic technique, the mechanism of which is based on obvious, easily traced connections between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. Irony is a satirical technique or a rhetorical figure that is used to create a certain artistic image, aimed at forming the hidden meaning of the statement. A native speaker intuitively feels the difference between metonymy and i
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