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

Background: Decalcification of surface enamel adjacent to fixed orthodontic appliances, in the form of white spot lesions, is a wide spread and familiar well-known side effect of orthodontic treatment. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of enamel protective agent (Clinpro white varnish) on shear and tensile bond strength of Dentaurum orthodontic stainless steel brackets by using 3M Unitek and Ormco as orthodontic adhesive agents. Materials and methods: Sixty-four extracted human upper first premolar teeth were selected and randomly divided into two groups with 32 teeth each, representing the shear and tensile bond strength testing groups. Then according to the type of bonding adhesive and the addition of Clinpro before

The effect of doping by methyl red and methyl blue on the absorption spectra and the optical energy gap of poly (methyl methacrylat) PMMA film have been studied. The optical transmission (T%) in the wavelength range 190-900 nm for films deposited by using solvent casting method were measured. The Absorptance data reveals that the doping affected the absorption edge as a red and blue shift in its values. The films show indirect allowed interband transitions that influenced by the doping. Optical constants; refractive index, extinction coefficient and real and imaginary part of dielectric constant were calculated and correlated with doping.

Synthesis, Characterization And Biological Evaluation of Schiff Base And Ligand Metal Complexes of Some Drug Substances

A new series of transition metal complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Fe(III) have been synthesized from the Schiff base (L1) and (L2) derived from Semicarbazide hydro chloride and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde or 4-bromobenzaldehyde. The structural features have been arrived from their elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity, IR, UV-Vis. and 1H NMR spectral studies. The data show that the complexes have composition of [M(L)2](NO3)2 and [Fe(L)2 (NO3)2](NO3) where the M=Co(II),Ni(II) and Cu(II) ;L=L1and L2 type. The magnetic susceptibility and UV-Vis spectral data of the complexes suggest a square planer geometry for Co(II) and Cu(II) but Fe(III) octahedral geometry and Ni(II) tetrahedral geometry around the central metal i

In this study, the effects of blending the un-branched acrylate polymer known as Poly (n-decyl acrylate), and the branched acrylate polymer known as Poly (iso-octyl acrylate), on the viscosity index (VI), and the pour point of the Iraqi base stocks 40, and 60 respectively, were investigated. Toluene was used as a carrier solvent for both polymer types. The improvement level of oils (VI, & pour point) gained by blending the oil with the acrylate derived polymers was compared with the values of (VI, and pour point) gained by blending the oil with a commercial viscosity index, and pour point improver. The commercial lubricant additive was purchased and used by Al-Daura Refineries. It consisted of an un-known olefin copolymer dissolved i

     In the present study, metal complexes of Mn(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) were synthesized using new Tetraazamacrocyclic Schiff Base (5E,8E,14E,17E)-6,8,15,17-tetramethyl-1,2,3,4,4a,7,9a,10,11,12,13,13a,16,18a-tetradecahydrodibenzo [b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraazacyclotetradecine (L) derived from 1,2-diamino cyclo hexane with the acetyl acetone.  Compounds  have been exanimated and confirmed by fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR), carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (13CNMR), microelemental analyses (CHN), thermal analysis (TG), conductivity and magnetic susceptibility. The propose geometry for all complexes [MLCl2] structures were octahedral. Therm

The effect of metal nanoparticles on the anaerobic digestion of sludge and the sludge bacterial community are still not well-understood, and both improvements and inhibitions have been reported. This study investigated the impact of 2, 10, and 30 mg/g TS silver and copper oxide nanoparticles (AgNPs and CuONPs) on the mesophilic anaerobic digestion of sludge and the bacterial community structure. The reactors were monitored for changes in tCOD, sCOD, TS, VS, biogas generation, and cell viability. Also, the relative abundance and taxonomic distribution of the bacterial communities were analyzed at the phylum and genus levels, including the genera involved in anaerobic digestion. Both AgNPs and CuONPs exhibited some inhibition on anaer

The research aims to identify the impact of the teaching methods Breathe test and imperative training method in learning some basic skills in Volleyball. The sample included 30 students of the first intermediate level from Al-Tawaia for boys / the public directorate of the education of Baghdad province – Al-Rasafa /2 ( The second). The samples are chosen randomly and divided into three groups : The systematic (Imperative method), first experimentary (training method), second experimentary (training method). Ten students are chosen for each group . The syllabus of the ministry of education is adopted on the systematic group while educational unites, which are prepared by the researcher, are used for the first and second experimenting group