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The conjoined twins, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata were successfully separated on February 17 and 18.
Speaking exclusively with The Guardian over the weekend, Olutoye, the Texas Children Hospital’s pediatric surgeon said there were 12 surgeons, 4 anesthesiologists and 8 nurses in the team that operated on the female twin babies.
One of the anesthesiologists is Olutoye’s wife, Dr. Toyin Olutoye. The third Nigerian doctor among the team which is now drawing applause and praise in the US and beyond is Dr. Mrs. Oluyemisi Fowode-Adeyemi, a pediatric gynecology fellow in the hospital.
The Nigerian community is now sharing in the praise and recognition that this medical feat has brought as all the medical practitioners involved are now being celebrated in the US media and society. Most of the major American TV stations and top newspapers have reported on the feat which took place over a week ago.
Reacting to the news, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN which represents about 1000 Nigerian churches in the US said ‘the active inclusion of three distinguished Nigerian doctors in the history-making conjoined twins separation in Houston is another showcase of how outstanding Nigerians are impacting the American community positively, and we are very proud of all three of them, as we congratulate all the leading and supporting medical personnel involved in the arduous surgery.”
Olutoye who is one of the top surgeons in the historic separation is also the Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Fetal Center and Co-Program Director of Perinatal Surgery Fellowship Program of the well-known Baylor College of Medicine. He came to the U.S. in 1989 to pursue his post-doctoral studies before deciding to stay back.
Local US media quoted the leader of the medical team, Dr Darrell Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center as saying: “This surgery was not without its challenges with the girls sharing several organs systems”. While the surgery lasted, the Nigerian doctors and their colleagues worked on Knatalye for about 23 hours and Adeline for 26, but Olutoye said they took breaks at different intervals.
Explaining further, Olutoye, who graduated from Kings College, Lagos and then University of Ife as a doctor, disclosed that the twins were actually 10 month-old and had to be previously delivered as premature babies. He said in anticipation of the separation surgery, tissue expanders were used to help prepare their skins.
According to him, “it is a blessing to be able to be part of a team that can help improve the lives of this two children. Now they have the potential to live a happy normal life.” The Nigerian surgeon said he was glad that Nigerians are being recognized in the US for such successes like this one.
He explained that the Siamese Twins who were born April 2014 to Elysse Mata, and her husband, John, were conjoined at the chest almost face-to-face, linked at the abdomen and sharing a common liver.
The twins had 4 kidneys going into two bladders, Olutoye disclosed adding that they also shared major organs like diaphragm, pelvis, lungs intestines and lining of the heart. But he noted that graciously the twins had separate hearts.
According to the US-based Nigerian surgeon, in many cases of such conjoined twins, separating them could be technically impossible, depending on where and how they are joined. Although conjoined twins rarely occur may be 1 in 100,000 to 500,000 case, Olutoye said.
The twins are now recovering, Olutoye said, adding that their full recovery is anticipated even if that takes a little while. Reports said the hospital has not set a release date for the children since Feb 18 when the surgery was completed.
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Why are millennials broke? Systems. Not choices.
I recently read an online discussion in which Baby Boomers and Gen Xers resoundingly chastised millennials who don’t save enough for retirement. It seems that instead, millennials are struggling with student debt. The crowd was quick to dismiss the problem as irresponsible millennials spending too much for college degrees that pay too little (e.g. Art History).
Really? Millennials (raised by Boomers and Gen Xers, by the way) are an entire generation of people who simply made bad college choices at historically unprecedented levels? Get real. Remember who chooses to attend college and decide on a major: An 18-year-old with no real world experience, who probably knows nothing about modeling lifetime financial implications of their decisions. Expecting them to be able to choose well is naive. Indeed, many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers made really bad choices. But when they were college age, the system was different. A bad choice, financially, wouldn’t—and didn’t—cripple you for life.
The fundamental economics of education and saving have changed.
That was Then
When Gen Xers were growing up, a college education cost a total of about a year and a half’s salary. MIT four-year tuition was $40,000 before books and expenses. A graduating student could get a job that paid a salary in the $30,000 range.
Furthermore, students could get jobs that paid enough to make a serious dent in student expenses. On-campus student jobs paid about $10, and a 1/4-time job would bring in $5,000 a year. That’s enough to pay half of the tuition bill. Today, student jobs still pay about $10. Needless to say, it won’t be covering half of the tuition bill.
To make up the difference, student loans fill the gap. Student loan interest rates were comparable to rates offered in savings accounts, so once a graduate started saving money, their asset base could compound at about the same rate as their student loans, so their net worth could be at least somewhat stable.
Starting salaries generally paid a living wage (enough for rent, food, utilities, a bit of entertainment, and savings), without the need for multiple jobs. And a college degree was a genuine ticket to a better-than-average job.
This is Now
Today, a college education costs closer to 4 years’ starting salary. MIT tuition is about $184,000.
Debt loads can’t be easily reduced by student jobs. No jobs available to students can make much of a dent in the $46,000/year tuition. Student jobs still pay in the $10-$12/hour range.
A starting salary of, say, $50,000 (higher than many are likely to get) isn’t actually enough to live in many cities while paying down student debt. While saying “move somewhere cheap” sounds attractive, the kind of jobs that make use of a college education are often located in big cities that aren’t that cheap.
Student loan interest rates are much higher than you can get in savings accounts, they aren’t dischargeable via bankruptcy. And the college degree that cost all this money is simply needed to get a job at all. Except from a certain class of top-tier schools, it isn’t a ticket to a comparatively higher salary.
Our Choices are as Bad as Millennials’
Everything I’ve read about Baby Boomers and Gen Xers is that we suck at saving money. We may have been living nice lifestyles, but we’re anything but role models when it comes to good lifetime financial decisions. But unlike millennials, we lived in a time where circumstances gave us decent lifestyles despite our bad choices. And our bad choices will, again, fall on the millennials. Our retirement years will make their middle-age a living hell, as they struggle to deal with an aging population that saved nothing and expects to be supported.
Millennials probably aren’t better at long-term financial planning than the rest of us, but they likely aren’t any worse. They were born into a set of circumstances, however, where the road to success that worked for us—a college education—had changed. That road, itself, costs more, benefits less, and creates circumstances that would be just as devastating for any Gen Xer or Baby Boomer.
Millennials don’t save? Of course not. Neith…
read time: 3 min
Mar 29, 2011
Pass data from activity to service
In activity:
Intent myIntent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, MyService.class);
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
bundle.putCharSequence("extraData", data);
pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getService(MainActivity.this, 0, myIntent, 0);
Basically, it's similar to that in "Pass data between activity".
In service side, there are no getIntent().getExtras() in Service class. We can handle it in onStart() call-back method, intent will be passed as parameter.
public void onStart(Intent intent, int startId) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onStart(intent, startId);
Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
data = (String) bundle.getCharSequence("extraData");
smsTextToSend = (String) bundle.getCharSequence("extraSmsText");
1. And how can i do to call the function onStart? I execute a Service from Activity using startService()
2. onStart() is a call-back function, the system will call it on service start. You just need to override it.
To simplify the job, Eclipse can help:
- Right click on any empty space on your service code.
- click Source
- click Override/Implement Methods...
- Search and enable onStart method, and click OK.
- Eclipse will insert the dummy method, you just need to fill in your code.
3. This comment has been removed by the author.
4. Thank you!! I'm doing the tests.. =) You've got a good blog.. i work with android and i'm very interested.. I'm following you =P
5. how about passing data from service to activity ?
6. how i pass the data from service to activity???
Infolinks In Text Ads
The E2 Treaty Trader Visa
treaty trader visaThe E2 Treaty Trader visa, also known as the E2 visa is one of the most popular visa options available because it allows an individual, and (his / her spouse and children under the age of 18) to move to the U.S. by investing in a “viable” going concern or a ”viable” start-up business.
This process often takes less than 1 year to complete. Currently other options, like sponsorship takes approximately 10 years , which makes the E2 Visa a much faster way to move to America.
To be eligible for an E2 Visa, you must raise a sufficient amount of capital to buy or start a business. There’s no delay beyond the usual federal red tape (and the time it takes to find the right business or location for a new business).
To qualify for a Treaty Investor (E-2) Visa
• The investor must be a person, partnership or corporate entity and must have the citizenship of a treaty country.
• If a corporate entity, the investors must own at least 50 percent of the US entity.
• The investment must be substantial, with investment funds or assets committed to the business and “at risk”. It must be a sufficient enough investment to ensure the successful operations of the enterprise and the hiring of two full-time American citizens.
• The investment must be a real operating enterprise, an active commercial, or an entrepreneurial undertaking.
• The business must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to you and your family. It must have a significant economic impact in the United States.
• Loans for the funding of the business cannot be secured by the business. However, you can take out a loan -in your country- by securing the lone with personal property.
• The investor must be coming to the United States to develop and direct the business. If you are not the principal investor, you must be considered an essential employee, employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.
Benefits of an E2 Visa:
1. The main advantage of having an E-2 Visa is that you can come and go as you please without any further immigration worries or Embassy visits for the period of the Visa (2-5 years)
2. As long as your new American business continues to financially support you and your family and two full-time American citizens, your visa should renew each 2-5 years indefinitely.
Processing times:
Once you’ve setup an entity in the state you will live, and the business you are purchasing is in escrow or the location for your new business is approve, and the business plan is written, and you have provided all needed documentation to your immigration attorney, you are ready to submit your paperwork to USCIS.
Depending on what Embassy you will be going to for your interview the approval timeline varies. However, plan on 90 days or less. If you file abroad you will interview in an American Embassy in your county or origin or country of legal residency.
Follow this link to see the current USCIS Processing Times;jsessionid=bca9Slrl9wCRteWTnOAJs
Premium Processing (PP):
USCIS allows Premium Processing, which allows you to have your visa application reviewed in under 15 days. To do this you must be here in the US at the time of submission. There is no interview. The answer will be Yes or a “Request for Further Evidence” (RFE). RFE’s are common and you will need to produce more evidence quickly so that your visa is issued in a timely manner. The RFE often asks for more recent financials, a better business plan, clarity on your current immigration status, funding, and so on. This is why it is so important to use an immigration attorney and independent company, such as Lanick to process your business services. Once the additional information is submitted USCIS will take an additional 15 days or less to provide a final decision. It will be a yes or a no.
The advantage of using Premium Processing is that it enables the investor to complete the purchase of a business in a normal or customary time frame, -typically, 30-45 days or less.
The disadvantage is that when an investor enters the US on a B2 visa and then uses PP to expedite the processing of the E2 visa, even though they get an Approval Notice allowing them to stay in the US for up to two years, you will still at some point have to go back to the Embassy in their own country in order to get the approval notice stamped into their passport . The case will have to be repackaged and reviewed again by the Embassy. Read more about the E2 Visa: E2 Visa USCIS
Oral Presentation
Despite the fact that the content of a particular presentation is of basic significance, the mode of presentation affects the general reception by the audience and can promote of hinder the impact of the information that is presented. Factors that make a presentation wonderful and interesting include the scientific content of the information, format of presentation and the manner in which a person interacts and communicates with the audience. A professional presentation should be meticulously planned and presented just like printed publications such as books and magazines. A person should make his notes brief and avoid lengthy paragraphs that may distort the flow of information.
Once a person prepares the general ideas to be presented, he should decide how to present them through a well organized talk as well as flow of points through a logical and unambiguous manner. The optimal speed of good talk is an average of a hundred words per minute and a faster speed hinders the audience ability of absorbing the information. The orator should pause at various intervals, repeat and emphasize on the critical information (Jack, 19). The opening information should be interesting and capture the attention of the audience. Successive points should be well planned and linked in a clear and concise manner.
The orator should shorten his talk by leaving out lengthy details and information, but not through elimination of words. If its of the essence that details must be presented, an individual should provide handouts that will supplement his presentation. Visual aids that are effective create a long lasting result and increase the concentration of the audience, as well as enhancing the credibility of a person. The visual support can consist of graphs, charts, pictures and drawings and the orator should maintain consistent color scheme and typeface. A study by Minnesota3M found out that an audience has a 43 more likelihood of acting on a persons message if he makes use of visual aids.
PowerPoint presentation is a form of capturing the attention of the audience and there are several functions of PowerPoint presentations with some being integrated. The most common use is in learning, marketing meetings, corporate training sessions and business meetings. PowerPoint presentations use both visual and audio elements which simplifies the understanding of information. The presentation should contain few text and maximum graphics with uniform and similar colors and font outlook (Jack, 32). Critics of PowerPoint say that it reduces complex issues into bullet form thus leaving out important details that is essential in making an informed decision. It can be easily abused where the orator starts with presenting slide shows instead of giving important points of his information.
Moreover, analysts argue that business presentations produced with PowerPoint would be better if produced without it since multiple slides limits concentration. An effective oral presentation should highlight the main points which bring out the structure of the message. The orator should support his arguments with examples and statistics for the information to be complete and concise. Moreover, one should learn to effectively manage time and support his conclusion with facts. A strong conclusion notifies the audience that the presentation is coming to an end and they will be in a position to strengthen their attention.
Organ System Evolution
For scientists, evolution is the reason different kinds of species live on Earth. This evolution gave birth to diversity of organisms comprising a given population. One of the key concepts of this theory is natural selection. In layman s term, it is the survival of the fittest. The environment in which an organism lives will favor species that have characteristics that will ensure better birth rate. A classic example of this is the industrial melanism that happened in England during the industrial revolution. Before the Industrial revolution, the typical pattern of the wing of England s peppered moth, Biston betularia, are light colored. Dark colored moths, or melanic moths, are very rare. However, the opposite happened during the Industrial revolution. In 1819, first melanic morph was seen, and in the next few years, it grew in number (University of Michigan, 2009). Very rapidly, the B. betularia in England evolve from light colored moths to melanic moths.
The reason behind this evolution of the color of wings of B. betularia in England is that the change in environment ensures the reproduction of melanic moths. Industrial wastes darkened the trees and pollute the air, thus killing the lichens. The former light color of the environment was darkened by these wastes. The light colored moths cannot blend with the color of the environment due to the contrast of their colors. Since it is a defense mechanism for escaping predators, light colored moths became easy prey. On the other hand, melanic moths became able to camouflage with the trees, hence escaping predators (ONeil, 2010). This ensured that the melanic moths can mate and multiply more rapidly. Hence, it can be said that the nature favored the evolution of melanic moths.
Cloning is one of the aspects of society that has been very much talked about and has been controversial. In the previous years, fiction literature featured how authors imagine cloned beings would become part of the natural order and system of the human life. In movies the topic of cloning has been greatly explored. This contributes to the generation of a growing interest on the topic. In the field of scientific study, cloning has already been existent for years now. It has created several different concrete results regarding the studies and experimentation undertaken in the pursuit of understanding and developing clones and the cloning process especially among animals and human beings. This brings about problems as well as opportunities, the negative and the positive, which should be weighed equally in this issue. Analyzing the demand for cloning maybe useful in order to better highlight the more general issues of access to reproductive technologies (Mazzoni, 2002, p. 159). It appears that clones and cloning will become a definitive part of the human history in the years to come. It is important to know the real extent of cloning and how it can positively and negatively affect human life and history, something that this paper will explore and discuss.
Cloning what is it
The term cloning, in general, refers to many different things. In biology, one of the major definitions of cloning is the process by which another living being is reproduced from the DNA or cells of another being, in essence, creating a replica of the original living being. As it happens in nature and unaided by human intervention, cloning is basically because of the ability of certain living beings to reproduce asexually (Dale, von Schantz, 2007, p. 25). Among other living beings like animals or even humans wherein reproduction is dependent on the sexual reproduction process, cloning is achieved through the intervention of humans and the scientific process. Presently, there are two kinds of cloning, one is molecular cloning which involves the reproduction of DNA, and the other one is cellular cloning which involves the reproduction of a cell. As an aspect of science and biotechnology, cloning is something that has been studied and made focus of the experiment by many professionals, developing the cloning technology that the world has today. The success in animal cloning triggered the experimentation on whether this will also happen to human and result to human cloning (Kramarae, Spender, 2000, p. 187).
Developments from the Earliest Beginnings until Today
The different forms of natural cloning like parthenogenesis for example, have been happening ever since the organisms capable of such action came to life. The artificial cloning of living organisms like big animals and human is something that has happened only in the recent times. By the middle of the twentieth century there were already efforts at cloning tadpoles and other aquatic animals, like the carp, a type of fish. It was cloned for the first time in China, as a result of the work of a scientist named Tong Dizhou, who works as an embryologist. Nearly two decades after Dizhous success, it was the turn of Soviet scientists to show what they were able to clone a mouse. The history of artificial cloning and the cloning technology marked its first significant breakthrough when it was able to produce Dolly. Dolly was the first ever mammal created from the process of artificial cloning taken from an adult cell (Nottingham, 2003, p. 34). Dolly was cloned in Roslin Institute which is found in Scotland. In 1996, Dolly made headlines because she is the living proof of how several theories regarding cloning artificially was proven true. From this point, cloning of animals has greatly increased in practice with more and more scientists becoming knowledgeable in the practice of cloning. Among humans, there is the natural cloning through the process that creates twins. There is also the artificial cloning (Nottingham, 2003, p. 34).
Cloning Today
The emergence of text regarding Dolly the Sheep allowed more experimentation on artificial cloning of animals. Other successful results of the artificial cloning of animals include the successful cloning of a Rhesus Monkey at the start of the twenty first century which is credited to the practice of splitting the embryo. The following year, a gaur was cloned. This was an important step in biotechnology as well as animal conservation. This marked the possibility that extinction of animals can be prevented through the practice of cloning, like what they did with the Gaur which was already endangered. It allowed them to create the first ever endangered animal in the world that has been cloned. The same year saw the cloning of a cattle and a cat. By 2003, a rat was cloned along with a mule and a horse. In 2004 another cat was cloned, and in the following year another cattle and a dog was cloned. Just last year, there were many animals produced because of artificial cloning efforts by scientists. The list includes the water buffalo named Samrupa, a camel and a Pyrenean Ibex. These developments in animal cloning was almost free of criticism and intrigue, far from the development in human cloning which has been receiving many criticisms, particularly ethical concerns (Kramarae, Spender, 2000, p. 187).

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