text:
Narendar, S and Gupta, SS and Gopalakrishnan, S (2011) Longitudinal Magnetic Field Effect on Nonlocal Ultrasonic Vibration Analysis of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Based on Wave Propagation Approach. In: Advanced Science Letters, 4 (11-12). pp. 3382-3389.Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)
This paper studies the effect of longitudinal magnetic field on ultrasonic vibration in single walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based on nonlocal continuum medium theory. Governing partial differential equations of CNTs are derived by considering the Lorentz magnetic forces applied on CNTs induced by a longitudinal magnetic field through Maxwell equations. The vibration characteristics of CNTs under a longitudinal magnetic field are obtained by solving the governing equations via wave propagation approach. The effects of longitudinal magnetic field on vibration of CNTs are discussed through numerical experiments. The present analysis show that vibration frequencies of CNTs drops dramatically in the presence of the magnetic field for various circumferential wavenumbers. Such effect is also observed for various boundary conditions of the CNT. New features for the effect of longitudinal magnetic field on ultrasonic vibration of CNTs, presented in this paper are useful in the design of nano-drive device, nano-oscillator and actuators and nano-electron technology, where carbon nanotubes act as basic elements.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|Advanced Science Letters
|Publishing Technology
|Division of Mechanical Sciences > Aerospace Engineering(Formerly Aeronautical Engineering)
Division of Mechanical Sciences > Mechanical Engineering
|Date Deposited:
|23 May 2012 12:55
|Last Modified:
|23 May 2012 12:55
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Best British Male Singers
He had to be first. Such an amazing voice, the British singer is actually descended from Indians, and he is the lead singer of Queen.
Freddie Mercury is the best singer ever, and Freddie Mercury lived in Britain, but, he was born in Zanzibar in Tanzania. In 1964, at the age of 18, him and his family were forced out of their home and moved to Britain.
If there's a God of Song its Freddie, being number one in this list or any list doesn't do him Justice. He is above any list!
The best singer of all time, so naturally, he should be number 1 on this list. Why isn't he?
Love his piano skill and his voice, he has powerful voice.
Simply the best!
Of course, he's pretty much the leader of the most famous band of all time! He's a great singer
Best singer in the Beatles
Should be number 2 next to Freddie Mercury. Pitch perfect. The only artist at Freddie's tribute concert that even came close to the brilliance of Mercury. The best singer/songwriter of his generation.
He had the most beautiful clear calm voice ever, There will never be any one in the world like him again, thank you for you George. I will never forget you. if only there was one more try
The most beautiful voice, soul and person. Both inside and out, George will never die, he shall be loved forever
One more try and father figure these two songs alone can attest his voice empowerment
The "coolest" guy in history also has a pretty decent voice and is a big part of the rolling stones.
Nobody has had the combined vocal range and flexibility that Paul had in him prime.
Well we're talking about the best singers, aren't we?
Except Freddie Mercury, none is better than paul.
His songwriting is better than his singing
It's seems this site doesn't distinguish between pop singers and Singers! Tom is a Singer!
How can he not be in the Top 10?
Ed sheeran is famous because his song makes people believe about something and there are another things you have to know about that. Fo example, he makes a friendship with many artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana grande, and etc. From that, we can conclude that, Ed Sheeran is friendly to everyone.
Ed sheeran is so talented in every way! His voice, his tunes, and not to mention the powerful lyrics that he writes himself! Definitely should be higher on the list!
Ed Sheeran is without a doubt my favourite singer. I just love his music, the lyrics, the genre, his voice, everything, my favourite song being "Castle On The Hill".
His X album and his + album and his other singles like All of the stars.. they are completely amazing! Ed Sheeran is supposed to be in top 10.
I think he should be much higher than he is currently, he has very good ideas
He has an amazing voice, he created for the stage! The cutest, sexiest, most sympathetic, most handsome, most charming most energetic man.
A legend I hope he keeps writing and singing for a loonng time. His songs are amazing.
Very talented man and he has a great voice
He is best singer of all time
The best creative singer. All his songs are not less than masterpieces. He damn sure deserve to be at the top 10 list. He has amazing vocals along with some extraordinary talents. Great going, dude. I'm Ankit and I admire you a lot, and one thing, my favorite song is dusk till dawn. Create some more songs like it... #ZQUAD
Zayn is best his vocal notes are amazing and I love him. He is handsome he is talented and he is just amazing.
Because of his handsome, he and his voice are overrated by female fans.
Best male singer in this industry
Best ever. Listen to Astral Weeks, never been surpassed.
PHENOMENAL for decades! Best album- 'St Dominics Preview'. Best single- Brown-Eyed Girl.
The best singer ever. only 27? :(
Higher please
Not the best, quite good though
Ian Gillan, singer for Deep Purple, was also the original Jesus Christ in the rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (1970), selected for the role by its authors Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Give a listen to his aria "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar. Make sure it's Ian Gillan because the aria was covered many times.
His voice cracks my heart his voice make me cry
His voice is beautiful and unique
Great voice and he is just cool!
1993-1994 amazing voice. Best forever
How can anyone Not think that this man is the Greatest vocalist that has ever and will ever be, bar none! No-one else comes close and no-one else ever will.
Robert Plant, the frontman Of led zeppelin, lower than Robbie Williams, Zayn Malik, ed Sheeran, Chris Martin and Liam Gallagher?
Vocals with heart felt emotion to boot no competition.
He's the male version of Beyonce!
What a great voice and to be so young.
Best dancing songs
He is the god of music.
He's bloody good!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I am ashamed and a bit embarrassed to state I don't have any sweatpants at the moment. I certainly don't have a set that matches my surroundings and computer, allowing me to lounge in peaceful positions. To be fair, my surroundings when I write are anything but peaceful, scattered with pens, notebooks, reference texts, a cup of something, and the occasional chocolate item (for strengthening).
Yes, despite being a writer with my head in the clouds and definitely not in sartorial splendour, I lack this essential garment. I'm wondering if I need to invest, just to speed my writing along.
Part of why I don't have sweats has to do with hemming – every pair of pants I own has required hemming and even with the elastic bottoms of the average sweatpants leg, the ballooning of extra material over my too short legs is distracting and potentially a tripping hazard. We won't get into how things tangle up in my under the desk bike I use to fool myself into thinking writing is an aerobic activity. (Undoing tangles seems to be, though. That bike is heavy.)
Plus, they are expensive these days, sweatpants. And unless this book actually gives me more royalties than my first one, (Recycled Virgin, coming in at roughly $20 so far this year) (please buy a copy as winter is coming), I may have to do without. Even used ones at thrift shops are more than that and, ummm, used sweatpants conjure up images of underwear not worn…
I do have writing clothes, though. I just read this article by an author, Heidi Soyinka, who bought clothing like her characters would wear, to put her into the mood. She bought vintage clothing of all sorts as she tried to get into her characters' heads.
It made me think about what I wear to thrash through my novel. I suppose, for me to be in the mood, I should put on a nursing uniform, one of the old ones from the Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing, the ones with the aprons and starched cuffs and collar.
I rather suspect the excellent Museum of Health Care might have something to say about me filching same from them.
And, unfortunately, I gave away my old nursing student uniforms. Maybe I could get away with my kitchen apron, just pretend the food stains weren't on it, tie it up tight so I had the necessary chest constriction…this would help keep the chocolate stains to a minimum, I suppose…
Fortunately for my writing, I remember my nursing school uniform days, the nylon stockings that always grabbed, the uncomfortable shoes that were the cheapest available, and which squeaked unattractively and ruined my arches. My student uniform was pink and white striped, with a white bib and cuffs and it was unspeakably horrid, fitted tightly over my already too round figure. I was furious that the one male student in my year didn't have to wear pink stripes, and got to wear a much more practical scrub suit, with no nylons to be seen.
So no, don't want to repeat this.
I suppose I could try coughing excessively, as I am writing about Tuberculosis and a hacking cough and sore throat would bring me into the scene – but in these COVID times I feel my neighbours would report me to the health police as a vector of infection.
I could open the windows wide, as they did in the sanatoriums of the time, bringing in bracing and clear air, but it does get chilly sitting and writing, and besides, my companion birds would object. They dislike chills. Even in the slightest cross breeze they puff up and glare at me with their beady eyes. It's disconcerting.
So I'm left with my usual not-so-glorious clothing for writing. These involve some jeans-type things (inexpertly hemmed) with elastic waists so they don't compress, and some sort of overly loose top. These are things that I never wear out of doors as they are too disreputable for polite company – after Covid lockdowns I've worn the seams off some of them, and they look chewed. Could be I've chewed them in agony over some unexpected plot twist (characters WILL misbehave)–I can't remember.
But something about putting them on does set me up for writing. It says, to myself and anyone who happens to come to the door, that I am not going out anywhere, that my focus is internal that day, that I don't want to be disturbed. Add unwashed hair and anyone who doubts I am really busy would quickly grasp I didn't want to be seen. I have frightened Amazon delivery persons on a writing day, and they are tough.
And in them, I'm comfortable enough to sink into my story, let my brain go play. That's more difficult with fancy clothes. They distract, as I tug and rearrange them. But perhaps that's only because I'm trying to cycle as I write?
I think, instead, I'll turn on some music from the 1940's to generate atmosphere – that's easier than having to change, and the birdies even like it.
Keep an eye out for my upcoming book, Spit and Polish, expected Spring 2023.


text:
Hopefully, you will have had time to read my previous blog post about getting started with Twitter. If you haven't, please take five minutes to do so now as this post builds on the basic tips and tricks outlined in the last one. It will make much more sense if you've read part one of this two-part series.
So following on from my last post, you should now at least have a Twitter account setup that's got a suitable username, bio and profile picture. You should have also sent your first tweet and started following some other Twitter accounts that are relevant to you and your business.
Now it's time to take your tweeting to the next level…
That all-important character limit
Ever since it began, Twitter has imposed a limit of 140 characters per tweet. It's part of the social network's charm and encourages people to be brief and to the point in their updates.
For people who simply couldn't say everything they wanted in 140 characters, it became the norm to write out their tweets in a text editor, like MS Word or Notepad, and then take a screenshot to upload on Twitter. This technique allows them to be more verbose with their updates, while still having the ability to tag people and use hashtags in the actual tweet.
UPDATE [13/11/2017] Twitter has officially rolled out the 280 character limit across the board, so there's a lot to be learned and tested in regards to the optimal tweet length. You can learn more about the 280 character update in my recent blog post > Twitter's new 280-character limit: how will it change your tweet game?
But now Twitter is testing a larger character limit for tweets. As outlined in this piece by TechCrunch, a 280-character limit is being tested at present with certain users. Whether this new larger limit will be rolled out across the board going forward remains to be seen.
What about @mentions, pictures and links?
It's worth knowing that mentions (when you tag someone in a tweet) are included in the 140-character limit, but reply mentions aren't. So, for example, if you start a conversation by tagging someone in a tweet, mentioning them will use up some of your available characters. However, if someone tags you in a tweet and you reply to them (mentioning them in the process) the tag won't use up any of your character limit.
A neat trick if you're short on characters and want to tag people is to include an image with your tweet. This allows you to tag up to 10 people without using up any of your character limit (photos and videos don't affect the number of characters you have available). So you get 140 characters for text, plus image, plus 10 people.
While links always use up 23 characters regardless of whether they are long or short, shortened URLs look better and allow more scope for tracking (great for website analytics). You can either use one of the many URL shortening tools out there or let Twitter shorten your URL for you.
Hashtags are an important part of social media. How many to use or whether to include any at all depends on each tweet.
The good news is that Twitter loves hashtags! They not only help categorise tweets, but each hashtag included in a tweet is also a clickable link that allows Twitter users to find other tweets related to the hashtag.
For example, my recent tweet about winning an award at the 3rd Cambridgeshire Digital Awards included the hashtag #CDA17.
Whoa, can't believe I've won 2nd place in @CambsDigiAwards for the use of social media! Thank you, everyone, for supporting me! #CDA17 pic.twitter.com/W4owL4d0eT
— Lenka Koppová (@lenkakopp) November 1, 2017
Anyone can click the #CDA17 hashtag to be shown a list of associated tweets. It's such a simple way to find more stuff that might be relevant to you. That's why I recommend you always use a couple of hashtags (max. 2-3) in each tweet. It will help grow your following organically.
If you want more information on hashtags, including how you should be using them on other social networks, check out this blog post I wrote a couple of months ago – Hashtags on social media: do you know how to use them?
Twitter lists
You'll notice that your feed will soon start filling up with tweets as you follow more people. At the start, it's not too difficult to keep track of everything. As you follow more and more people it can quickly become out of control. That's where Twitter lists come in.
Twitter lists are a simple way to organise the Twitter accounts you follow into meaningful categories. So, for example, you might have a list called 'digital marketing'. This list would include the accounts of individuals and businesses related to the digital marketing industry.
Or what about lists that contain your customers and prospects!? This allows you to have the people who really matter to your business in one place! It's also helping with keeping engagement seamless and reducing the chances of you missing one of their important posts. Likewise, you might create a list of influencers in your industry so you can easily keep track of their posts and join in important industry-related conversations. P.S. Keep these lists private, so people don't see you're 'spying' on them.
A great resource for learning more about Twitter lists, including how to create them, is this one on Twitter's own Help Center.
Advanced Twitter searches
Twitter's advanced search function enables you to conduct more advanced searches on the platform (surprise, surprise). It's great for finding specific tweets when you know a little bit about them e.g. the rough date they were published, any hashtags they included and/or the account that tweeted them.
You can access the advanced search function in Twitter here or by conducting a normal search using the search bar on twitter.com and then clicking on the 'advanced search' link to the left of the results your get.
More info on Twitter's advanced search function, including the parameters you can use, can be found in this Twitter Help Center article.
Final tip – never automate engagement
We're all busy and that makes it tempting to utilise third-party apps to automate engagement. My simple advice is don't – especially if these apps can't hide the fact they're engaging on your behalf!
Your followers are following you for a reason. When they send you a direct message (DM) or mention you in a tweet, they want you to be the one who replies or acknowledges them. Not some app that doesn't know you from all the other millions of people who use it.
Always find time to engage with your audiences keeps the connections personal. As soon as you lose the personal touch, your followers will know and they could respond by unfollowing you.


text:
- Research article
- Open Access
- Published:
Gene expression of tendon markers in mesenchymal stromal cells derived from different sources
BMC Research Notes volume 7, Article number: 826 (2014)
2593 Accesses
27 Citations
3 Altmetric
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) can be recovered from a variety of tissues in the body. Yet, their functional properties were shown to vary depending on tissue origin. While MSC have emerged as a favoured cell type for tendon regenerative therapies, very little is known about the influence of the MSC source on their properties relevant to tendon regeneration.
The aim of this study was to assess and compare the expression of tendon extracellular matrix proteins and tendon differentiation markers in MSC derived from different sources as well as in native tendon tissue. MSC isolated from equine bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord tissue, umbilical cord blood and tendon tissue were characterized and then subjected to mRNA analysis by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
MSC derived from adipose tissue displayed the highest expression of collagen 1A2, collagen 3A1 and decorin compared to MSC from all other sources and native tendon tissue (p < 0.01). Tenascin-C and scleraxis expressions were highest in MSC derived from cord blood compared to MSC derived from other sources, though both tenascin-C and scleraxis were expressed at significantly lower levels in all MSC compared to native tendon tissue (p < 0.01).
These findings demonstrate that the MSC source impacts the cell properties relevant to tendon regeneration. Adipose derived MSC might be superior regarding their potential to positively influence tendon matrix reorganization.
Tendon disease is a common cause of acute pain and long-term mobility loss in athletes and elderly patients [1–4]. Due to the predominantly degenerative character of the disease, in many cases, regeneration following acute injury cannot be achieved by conventional therapies [1–4]. Cell-based therapies, however, were shown to have positive effects on tendon regeneration not only in small animal studies, but also in the equine large animal model [5–8].
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are currently the most frequently used cell type in tendon therapy based on their functions as connective tissue cell progenitors and potent immunomodulators [9, 10]. However, cells that correspond to the general definition of MSC can be found in many different locations in the body, and several studies showed that important differences exist between MSC derived from different sources [11–16]. Thus, it is to be expected that the MSC source also has an impact on the success of the clinical use of the cells. In order to be able to choose the optimal cell source, more knowledge is required on cell characteristics that are specifically important for the intended therapeutic application.
Aiming at regenerative tendon therapies, it is important to consider that tendons are composed of mainly extracellular matrix with a strictly hierarchical organization of collagen fibrils [4, 17]. The re-organization of these fibrils and other extracellular matrix components after injury is crucial for regaining the mechanical load capacity of the tendon and thus to prevent re-injury. MSC application was shown to improve the extracellular matrix structure of damaged tendons and increased the collagen 1 content towards normal levels [6, 7], leading to the assumption that replacement and remodelling of the extracellular matrix is a major contribution of MSC to tendon healing. Aiming to apply MSC that best possibly support the extracellular matrix remodelling, it appears of great importance to know the extent of the expression of tendon extracellular matrix components in MSC from different tissue sources.
Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to further extend and support our previous data on the comparative characterization of equine MSC from different sources [13, 18]. For this purpose, MSC derived from different tissue origins were used for a comparative assessment of their gene expression levels of molecules that are relevant to tenogenesis and to the composition and structure of tendon extracellular matrix. Cells were isolated from equine bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue (AT), tendon tissue (TT), umbilical cord blood (UCB) and umbilical cord tissue (UCT). Cells from all samples were subjected to MSC characterization assays and to real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses of collagen 1A2, collagen 3A1, decorin, tenascin-C and scleraxis expression. Native tendon tissue controls (naT) were used as a reference for the gene expression analyses.
Basic MSC characteristics
Plastic-adherent cells could be isolated from all samples. The cells were capable of adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation as confirmed by Oil Red O, von Kossa or Alcian blue staining, respectively. Flow cytometry revealed that they expressed CD29 and CD44, and lacked expression of CD34, CD45 and MHCII, although there were some variations between the percentages of positive cells between donors and MSC sources (data published elsewhere [18]).
Collagen expression
AT-MSC displayed a distinctively high collagen 1A2 expression, which differed significantly from MSC derived from all other sources or from naT (p < 0.01). BM- and UCT-MSC collagen 1A2 expression was overall lowest. Although at a lower level than collagen 1A2, AT-MSC also showed the highest collagen 3A1 expression, which was significant compared to all other sample types (p < 0.01) except for UCB-MSC. Correspondingly, the ratio of collagen 1A2 expression to collagen 3A1 expression was higher in AT-MSC than in MSC derived from all other sources or in naT (p < 0.01). BM-MSC displayed the lowest ratio (p < 0.01 compared to AT-MSC, TT-MSC and naT) (Figure 1 and Additional file 1: Figure S1, Table 1).
Decorin expression
Decorin expression was generally higher in all MSC than in naT, with the highest expression levels in AT- and TT-MSC (p < 0.01 compared to naT and BM-MSC). Of all MSC sources, UCB-MSC displayed the lowest decorin expression (p < 0.01 compared to AT-, TT- and UCT-MSC), with one single UCB-MSC sample showing an outstandingly low expression (Figure 1 and Additional file 1: Figure S1, Table 1).
Tenascin-C and scleraxis expression
Tenascin-C and scleraxis expression levels were both significantly higher in naT than in MSC, irrespective of their source (p < 0.01). For tenascin-C expression, no significant differences between MSC from different sources were found. Moreover, tenascin-C was expressed at overall lower levels than the other genes investigated. For scleraxis, differences were also evident between MSC from different sources, with the highest median expression in UCB-MSC (p < 0.01 compared to BM- and UCT-MSC) (Figure 1 and Additional file 1: Figure S1, Table 1).
In this study, we showed that significant differences exist between the gene expression of tendon extracellular matrix components in MSC derived from different sources, which is of potential relevance for MSC application in tendon therapy.
Most remarkably, there was a clear pattern that AT-MSC expressed the extracellular matrix proteins collagen 1A2, collagen 3A1 and decorin at highest levels. In contrast, collagen expression was low in BM- and UCT-MSC. Furthermore, the ratio of collagen 1A2 to collagen 3A1 was highest in AT-MSC and lowest in BM- and UCT-MSC. Collagen 1A2 is the most abundant protein in healthy tendon tissue, while collagen 3A1 is also present but higher quantities are only found during tendon repair [4, 17]. Decorin is the most abundant proteoglycan in tendon tissue and plays an important role in the regulation of the collagen fibril structure and cell proliferation as well as in stimulating immune responses [19]. MSC which highly express these important extracellular matrix proteins may therefore have the best potential to positively influence matrix reorganization during tendon healing.
Regarding the expression of tenascin-C and scleraxis, both genes being expressed at lower levels in MSC than in naT, differences between MSC samples were not as eminent as those between the expression levels of collagens or decorin. Among the MSC derived from different sources, UCB-MSC displayed the highest median expression and AT-MSC the second highest median expression of both tenascin-C and scleraxis. The glycoprotein tenascin-C is known to be present in healthy tendon and is involved in the regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis, but is also associated with tendon disease [20, 21]. However, although frequently being used as an additional tenogenic differentiation marker [22, 23], tenascin-C is expressed in a wide variety of cell types and its upregulation is also associated with non-musculoskeletal diseases such as asthma or cancer [24]. The transcription factor scleraxis is considered to be a more specific tenogenic differentiation marker, as it was found to be essential to tenogenesis, although further signals are required to contribute to tendon development [25–27]. Scleraxis was further shown to regulate collagen 1A2 synthesis in cardiac fibroblasts [28] and may therefore also play an important role in the re-organization of the extracellular tendon matrix after injury. However, in the current study using unstimulated MSC, a correlation between scleraxis expression and collagen 1A2 expression was not evident.
For healthy, adult tendon tissue, high expression levels of collagen 1A2 and scleraxis and low expression levels of tenascin-C were previously found to be most specific, while cultured tenocytes displayed a significantly lower scleraxis expression [21]. This is in accordance with the current study, in which scleraxis was expressed at significantly lower levels in all MSC compared to naT, while collagen 1A2 and collagen 3A1 expression by monolayer-cultured MSC, except for AT-MSC, did not differ significantly from naT. This supports the hypothesis that scleraxis is a useful marker to distinguish undifferentiated fibroblast-like cells and fully differentiated tenocytes.
Our findings also correspond with a previously published study in which rat BM- and TT-MSC were compared regarding their properties relevant to tendon regeneration [29]. In this study, TT-MSC displayed superior properties and a higher expression of tendon markers compared to BM-MSC [29]. While in the current study, tendon marker expression in TT-MSC was also higher than in BM-MSC, AT-MSC diplayed an even higher marker expression than TT-MSC. Therefore, based on the hypothesis that re-organization and replacement of the extracellular matrix is a major contribution of MSC to tendon healing, AT may be the most promising cell source for tendon therapy.
There are further aspects which could have an influence on therapeutic success in tendon therapy. Besides practical issues such as the required cell numbers and the optimal way of applying the cells, MSC properties such as their viability and their immunomodulatory capacity are of potential importance. Previous studies showed that differences between equine MSC from different sources also exist with regard to their viability and proliferation potential, at which AT-MSC have already been shown to be superior compared to MSC derived from other sources [13, 15]. In contrast, no major differences between equine MSC from different sources could be detected with regard to their influence on lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine expression [30], indicating a similar immunomodulatory potential.
Taking into consideration their ease of harvest, high viability and good immunomodulatory potential as well as their high expression of tendon extracellular matrix components as demonstrated in the current study, AT-MSC appear to display several advantages for clinical use in tendon therapy.
However, the current study is of preliminary character. Comparative studies of MSC from different sources using in vitro models that mimic tenogenic conditions [31] may help to further substantiate our hypothesis. Eventually, it remains to be investigated whether a high expression of extracellular matrix proteins in vitro finally leads to the intended results in terms of replacement and re-organization of the extracellular matrix after in vivo application.
The current study demonstrates that MSC from different sources display different tendon marker expression patterns, particularly with respect to the most important tendon extracellular matrix components. As improvement in matrix re-organization has been shown to be the major beneficial effect of MSC in tendon therapy, this finding is of potential clinical relevance. AT-MSC showed the highest expression of tendon extracellular matrix components and may therefore be most potent to positively influence extracellular matrix re-organization after tendon injury.
Sample collection
For primary cell isolation, UCB and UCT were recovered from healthy foals and BM, AT and TT were recovered from healthy adult horses (age range: 3–18 years), as described previously [13] and with approval by the local ethics committee (Landesdirektion Leipzig, Germany, A13/10). Further tendon samples were collected from the superficial digital flexor tendons of animals which had been euthanized for unrelated reasons and immediately stored at -80°C to be used as the naT reference for RNA analysis.
Cell culture and characterization
Cells were isolated by density gradient centrifugation from BM and UCB and by collagenase I digestion from AT, TT and UCT as described previously [13]. They were then seeded into culture flasks in low glucose (1 g/L) Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (Life Technologies GmbH) supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (Sigma Aldrich, Taufkirchen, Germany), 1% penicillin-streptomycin (PAA Laboratories GmbH, Coelbe, Germany) and 0.1% gentamycin (Life Technologies GmbH), and incubated at 37°C, 95% humidity and 5% CO2 for selection of plastic-adherent cells and their further expansion. Passage 3 cells were used to confirm their trilineage differentiation potential into adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes [13], as well as for the assessment of surface marker expression by flow cytometry [18].
RNA analysis
Five samples of UCB-MSC and 6 samples of each BM-, AT-, TT- and UCT-MSC (passage 3) as well as naT were subjected to RNA analysis by real-time RT-PCR.
Total RNA of MSC was isolated using the RNeasy® Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hamburg, Germany) according to instructions of manufacturers (protocol version 09/2010). Frozen naT samples were sliced in 12 μm sections with a microtome CM 3050 S equipped with cryochamber (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany) and incubated for 60 min at 55°C in homogenization buffer (15 mM HEPES, 2.5 mM KCl, 68.5 mM NaCl, 450 μM Na2HPO4, 17.5 mM EDTA, 27.5 mM glucose at pH 7) containing 100 μg/ml proteinase K (Ambion® Life Technologies, Darmstadt, Germany). To homogenize the sample, lyzed tendon tissue was passed through a 20-gauge needle several times. Total RNA of tendon tissue homogenate was purified with phenol/chloroform extraction and isopropanol precipitation.
DNase-treated RNA was reverse transcribed using the RevertAid H Minus First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Dreieich, Germany) or the Omniscript RT Kit (Qiagen) with oligo-dT18 primers as described by the manufacturers. Relative quantification of cDNA was performed with a 7500 Real Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, USA) and SYBR® Green as double-strand DNA-specific dye (iQ™SYBR® Green Supermix, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, USA). Primers amplifying the respective genes are listed in Table 2 and corresponding Ct values were used to analyze gene expression. RT-PCR analysis of scleraxis expression was performed with two different primer sets for native tendon tissue and isolated MSC. To confirm that relative quantification of both sample types was comparable, expression of scleraxis in MSC derived from BM, AT, UCT, UCB and TT was analyzed using both primer sets. Obtained data showed that relative expression of scleraxis was similar in MSC derived from different sources irrespective of the primer set used (data not shown). Therefore, scleraxis mRNA expression levels of all samples can be compared.
Primer efficiency (Egene) was calculated after serial dilution of template cDNA and target gene expression levels were normalized to the reference genes ACTB and GAPDH as described previously [32]:
Further, fold changes (FC) of MSC gene expression compared to naT gene expression were calculated from the normalized gene expression ratios:
Statistical analysis
Kruskall-Wallis one way analyses of variance and subsequent Mann–Whitney-U tests were performed to analyze differences between the normalized gene expression levels of the sample groups. P < 0.01 was considered as significant.
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cell(s)
Bone marrow
Adipose tissue
Tendon tissue
Umbilical cord blood
Umbilical cord tissue
- naT:
Native tendon tissue control
Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction
Fold change(s).
Kader D, Saxena A, Movin T, Maffulli N: Achilles tendinopathy: some aspects of basic science and clinical management. Br J Sports Med. 2002, 36: 239-249. 10.1136/bjsm.36.4.239.
Scott A, Huisman E, Khan K: Conservative treatment of chronic Achilles tendinopathy. CMAJ. 2011, 183: 1159-1165. 10.1503/cmaj.101680.
Heckman DS, Gluck GS, Parekh SG: Tendon disorders of the foot and ankle, part 2: achilles tendon disorders. Am J Sports Med. 2009, 37: 1223-1234. 10.1177/0363546509335947.
Riley G: Tendinopathy–from basic science to treatment. Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol. 2008, 4: 82-89. 10.1038/ncprheum0700.
Young RG, Butler DL, Weber W, Caplan AI, Gordon SL, Fink DJ: Use of mesenchymal stem cells in a collagen matrix for Achilles tendon repair. J Orthop Res. 1998, 16: 406-413. 10.1002/jor.1100160403.
Schnabel LV, Lynch ME, van der Meulen MC, Yeager AE, Kornatowski MA, Nixon AJ: Mesenchymal stem cells and insulin-like growth factor-I gene-enhanced mesenchymal stem cells improve structural aspects of healing in equine flexor digitorum superficialis tendons. J Orthop Res. 2009, 27: 1392-1398. 10.1002/jor.20887.
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da Silva Meirelles L, Chagastelles PC, Nardi NB: Mesenchymal stem cells reside in virtually all post-natal organs and tissues. J Cell Sci. 2006, 119: 2204-2213. 10.1242/jcs.02932.
Burk J, Ribitsch I, Gittel C, Juelke H, Kasper C, Staszyk C, Brehm W: Growth and differentiation characteristics of equine mesenchymal stromal cells derived from different sources. Vet J. 2013, 195: 98-106. 10.1016/j.tvjl.2012.06.004.
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Schweitzer R, Chyung JH, Murtaugh LC, Brent AE, Rosen V, Olson EN, Lassar A, Tabin CJ: Analysis of the tendon cell fate using Scleraxis, a specific marker for tendons and ligaments. Development. 2001, 128: 3855-3866.
Murchison ND, Price BA, Conner DA, Keene DR, Olson EN, Tabin CJ, Schweitzer R: Regulation of tendon differentiation by scleraxis distinguishes force-transmitting tendons from muscle-anchoring tendons. Development. 2007, 134: 2697-2708. 10.1242/dev.001933.
Berthet E, Chen C, Butcher K, Schneider RA, Alliston T, Amirtharajah M: Smad3 binds Scleraxis and Mohawk and regulates tendon matrix organization. J Orthop Res. 2013, 31: 1475-1483. 10.1002/jor.22382.
Espira L, Lamoureux L, Jones SC, Gerard RD, Dixon IM, Czubryt MP: The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor scleraxis regulates fibroblast collagen synthesis. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2009, 47: 188-195. 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2009.03.024.
Tan Q, Lui PP, Rui YF, Wong YM: Comparison of potentials of stem cells isolated from tendon and bone marrow for musculoskeletal tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part A. 2012, 18: 840-851. 10.1089/ten.tea.2011.0362.
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The authors acknowledge Prof. A. Bader and Prof. P. Seibel for kindly providing the laboratory facilities (Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, University of Leipzig), and further Prof. Dr. C. Kasper, Dr. I. Ribitsch and Prof. Dr. C. Staszyk for providing their support. The work presented in this paper was made possible by funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF 1315883). The work was further funded by the Mehl-Muelhens Foundation and the Dres. Jutta & Georg Bruns Foundation.
Additional information
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
JB and CG conceived of the study and the study design, coordinated the study, performed part of the cell culture and characterization and were responsible for data analysis and drafting of the manuscript. SH contributed to the study design, performed RT-PCR analyses and participated in data analyses and drafting of the manuscript. BP contributed to the study design and performed RT-PCR analyses. FP carried out part of the cell culture and characterization and the respective data analyses. AA and WB contributed to the study design and coordination. All authors critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version.
Janina Burk, Claudia Gittel contributed equally to this work.
Electronic supplementary material
Additional file 1: Figure S1: Tendon marker expression levels in MSC and naT. Gene expression of tendon markers in multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) from different sources and in native tendon tissue (naT), given as ratios normalized to ACTB and GAPDH. BM: bone marrow; AT: adipose tissue; UCB: umbilical cord blood; UCT: umbilical cord tissue; TT: tendon tissue. (TIFF 960 KB)
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
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Cite this article
Burk, J., Gittel, C., Heller, S. et al. Gene expression of tendon markers in mesenchymal stromal cells derived from different sources. BMC Res Notes 7, 826 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-7-826
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-7-826
- Mesenchymal stromal cell
- Tendon
- Adipose tissue
- Bone marrow
- Umbilical cord
- Collagen
- Decorin
- Scleraxis
- Tenascin-C


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Traffic delays to BarrettPosted: July 30, 2020 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: ENF Leave a comment
|U.S. Forest Service Eldorado National Forest 100 Forni Road Placerville, CA 95667 530-303-2412 www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado News Release For Immediate Release July 30, 2020 Media Contact: Jennifer Chapman, (530) 957-9660 www.facebook.com/EldoradoNF Twitter:@EldoradoNF Travellers' Advisory for Wrights Lake Road in the Eldorado National Forest PLACERVILLE, Calif. – Forest visitors are advised that traffic control will be in place on Wrights Lake Road for the next several weeks while a road improvement project is in progress. Visitors will encounter equipment, traffic control, and delays of 30 minutes or more Monday through Friday between Highway 50 and Wrights Lake. This week, the contractor will be hauling supplies to designated stockpile locations and doing marking tasks. Following theses preparations, the work will include pothole patching, crack sealing and culvert replacement over the next several weeks. The U.S. Forest Service will be overseeing this work which includes approximately 7.9 miles of Wrights Lake Road (11N26). Wrights Lake Road is a surfaced road that provides seasonal access to several wilderness trailheads, the Barrett Lake 4WD trail, summer home tracts, and campgrounds. No work will take place on weekends or federal holidays. Road closures and delays will generally be up to 30 minutes. However, during culvert replacements and chip seal operations ,wait times could be up to an hour or more. Please be patient while this work is being completed. These road improvements will make your visit to Wrights Lake more enjoyable in the future. For alternative destinations, please visit the forest website or call the Pacific and Placerville Ranger District office at 916-500-4712. ### The U.S.D.A Forest Service is an equal opportunity employer. The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.


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A Wide Range of Types of Tractors
- A hydraulically driven tractor to work in a garden, a wide area or a pasture.
- A small or compact tractor is suitable for landscaping and digging work.
- A subcompact tractor is a smaller version of a tractor. It has the power and versatility to do a variety of works such as transporting compost, mowing the field and cultivating the soil. It is a kind of auxiliary tractor and is great for landscaping.
- An auxiliary tractor for running on a small farm to mechanize agricultural work.
- agricultural;
- industrial;
- skidding;
- army.
- The ability to change attachments or trailed equipment quickly;
- The ability to work and move at high speeds while maintaining performance with other machines at minimum speeds;
- The ability to unify connecting devices;
- The possibility to be serviced and repaired in the field.
Modern Equipment Used to Operate the Tractor
- Creating routes for the tractor and можливо adjusting them to the vehicle.
- Carrying out automatic steering for accurate row guidance.
- Controlling the amount of fuel usage and lubricants.
- Monitoring the tractor's,working hours and idle times tracking its route and deviations.


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How to Master French Gender Rules in a Nutshell
Masculin ou féminin ?
Oh, the woes this question has brought you and every other French speaker out there.
Having a conversation? You need gender agreements. Brushing up on vocab? Better know the nouns' genders.
In fact, if you want to immerse yourself in French, then you've got to know your le from your la (definite articles) and your une from your un (indefinite articles).
- Why Gender Is So Important
- When You'll Use French Gender
- How to Conquer French Gender Rules in a Nutshell
- Fun Tools for French Gender Practice
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Why Gender Is So Important
If your native language doesn't have grammatical gender, then your big question may be "Why?" before "How?" Why are some nouns boys and others girls? How can a noun have a gender? Surely they don't have the anatomy to make a distinction?
Allow me to explain the insanity.
Bear with me for a moment as I take us back—way, way back to the origins of our modern languages.
Linguists have inferred that thousands of years ago there was a language called Proto-Indo-European (well, people didn't call it that back then, but we do now). It's believed that PIE originally made distinctions between nouns that were animate and inanimate. The animate nouns eventually branched off into masculine and feminine, and the inanimate into a neuter classification.
So blame your caveman ancestors for the extra work. English, spawning from PIE after a long saga of evolution, came to drop grammatical gender. French only dropped the neuter gender, and so here we are.
But…but…can't we just fudge it? Who cares if we get it right? What about gender equality? Nope, it's still important, even if it seems arbitrary that un pull (a sweater) is masculine and une lampe (a lamp) is feminine, you need to know it if you're serious about French.
When You'll Use French Gender
First things first, when you learn a French word, you'll see it paired with either its definite or indefinite article.
The indefinite articles or "a/an" in English:
un (masculine)
une (feminine)
des (plural)
The definite articles or "the" in English:
le (masculine)
la (feminine)
les (plural)
The partitive articles or "some" in English:
du (masculine)
de la (feminine)
des (plural)
In addition, you'll need to know the gender in order to determine which pronoun to use. For example, when choosing personal pronouns Il (He) or Elle (She). Use these when describing what a noun does.
Then there are the adjectives, which have different spellings or pronunciations depending on the gender of the noun to which you're applying them. And of course, for you time traveling connoisseurs, there are the gender agreements found in the perfect tense and all of its grammatically derivative compound tenses.
What's the message here? When you learn vocabulary, don't forget to learn whether it's a skirt-wearing, pink-loving feminine noun or a roughhousing masculine noun!
How to Conquer French Gender Rules in a Nutshell
Most French teachers and fellow French speakers will tell you that there's no rhyme or reason to whether a noun is masculine or feminine. While there's some truth to this, largely due to the long-term evolution of the French language, there are some rules (and exceptions) to get most nouns on lock.
Remember that your instincts about a word may not always be correct, for example le féminisme (feminism) is masculine and la masculinité (masculinity) is feminine. Makes total sense.
Look at the Ending
This may be the most effective way to determine the gender of a noun when you're stumped. Of course, the best method is just memorizing the gender when you learn the noun but, hey, nobody's perfect.
Here's a list of common endings for both masculine and feminine nouns, but keep in mind that these rules only apply around 90% of the time. Those are good odds, and French natives even have trouble with those pesky exceptions.
If it ends with_____it may be masculine.
-il, -ail, -eil, -euil
-eau, -eu
-am, -um, -em
-it, -est
-an, -and, -ant, -ent, -in, -int, -om, -ond, -ont
-ème, -ège
Most nouns that end with a consonant will be masculine. Keyword: MOST.
If it ends with_____ it may be feminine.
-tion, -sion and -son
-ude, -ade
-ance, -ence
-consonant + -ie
Most combinations of vowel + consonant + –e will be feminine, such as: -ine, -elle, -esse, -ette, etc.
Certain Categories of Nouns Show Gender
Fellow world travelers, this one's for you! If a city or a place name does not end in -e, then it's most likely masculine. If a city or place names ends in -e, then it's generally feminine. This is a pretty standard rule (thankfully easy to remember) with only a handful of exceptions, noted below:
le Mexique (Mexico)
le Bélize (Belize)
le Cambodge (Cambodia)
le Mozambique (Mozambique)
le Zaïre (Zaire)
le Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Derivative Nouns
Nouns that are derived from a verb—referring to something or someone carrying out that verb's action—typically use the ending -eur, and will be masculine.
Examples: l'aspirateur (the vacuum), l'ordinateur (the computer).
Nouns that are derived from adjectives and end with –eur are feminine.
Examples: la rougeur (the redness), la largeur (the width), la pâleur (the paleness)
Nouns That Go Both Ways
When talking about certain animals in French, you refer to the male version of the species with a masculine noun and the female of the species with a feminine noun. Finally, some logic!
Examples: un étalon (a stallion), un cerf (a stag), une chatte (female cat), un chat (a male cat), etc.
Although (sad face) there are exceptions to these rules as well. So many exceptions! So many! Some nouns for animals refer to both genders.
Examples: la souris (the mouse), le cheval (the horse).
Wouldn't it be nice if French just didn't have exceptions?
Job Titles
This is another category that employs some logic.
Most job titles have both a masculine and feminine form. Many of them started out as exclusively masculine words because, back in the old days of soul-crushing sexism, only men held those jobs. As the years went on and women began to work a diverse array of jobs, more and more of these job titles took on feminine forms.
This isn't all without politics of course. Many people argue that it's more sexist to have separate job titles for men and women and not just one word for the job title. Either way, here are some examples of the masculine and feminine forms:
un acteur, une actrice (actor)
un boulanger, une boulangère (baker)
un infirmier, une infirmière (nurse)
un caissier, une caissière (cashier)
un avocat, une avocate (lawyer)
un pharmacien, une pharmacienne (pharmacist)
un étudiant, une étudiante (student)
un serveur, une serveuse (waiter)
The Rules of Agreement
Now that you have a good handle on which nouns are likely to be feminine and which are likely to be masculine, it's time to chat about what to do with that information.
Gender agreements are important in both conversation and writing. The gender of a noun can change the adjectives applied to it and some verb tenses, not to mention it'll determine which pronouns to use.
Adjective Agreements
Adjectives in French don't just conform to the gender, but also the quantity. Most adjectives have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural.
General Guidelines for Adjective Gender
This is the most common way adjectives are modified for gender and quantity.
Masculine Singular: amusant (fun), bleu (blue), vert (green), content (happy)
Feminine Singular: amusante, bleue, verte, contente
Masculine Plural: amusants, bleus, verts, contents
Feminine Plural: amusantes, bleues, vertes, contentes
You simply add either an –e, -s, or –es.
Other Adjective Rules:
If the masculine form of an adjective ends in an unaccented –e, then the feminine form is the same and only an -s is needed for plural forms. Example: triste (sad), triste, tristes, tristes.
If the masculine form of an adjective ends in –l or –n, then you make it feminine by doubling the consonant. Example: bon (good), bonne, bons, bonnes.
If the masculine form of an adjective ends in -er or –et, then you'll add an accent for the feminine. Example: cher (expensive), chère, chers, chères
Notable exceptions:
If it ends in -c, then –che is the feminine ending. Example: blanc (white), blanche, blancs, blanches.
If it ends in -eux, then –euse is the feminine ending. Example: amoureux (romantic), amoureuse, amoureux, amoureuses.
If it ends in –f, then -ve is the feminine ending. Example: actif (active), active, actifs, actives.
If it ends in -eur, then –euse is usually the feminine. Example: menteur (lying), menteuse, menteurs, menteuses.
So irregular they don't have a category:
These have no rhyme or reason, but you'll find yourself using them often. These are listed in the order of: masculine, masculine before a vowel, feminine, masculine plural, and feminine plural.
Beautiful: beau, bel, belle, beaux, belles
Crazy: fou, fol, folle, fous, folles
New: nouveau, nouvel, nouvelle, nouveaux, nouvelles
Old: vieux, vieil, vieille, vieux, vieilles
Verb Agreements
Luckily this part is pretty straightforward, no weird irregular endings for the feminine form.
Be aware that with some verb tenses, you'll need to be certain about what gender your noun is in order to correctly conjugate.
In the perfect tense and other compound tenses (such as the past perfect and the past conditional) when you use être as your helping verb, you'll need to make an agreement with your subject. Usually this is straightforward because the subject is either je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, or elles. If a noun is your subject, make sure you're certain of its gender so you can make the proper agreements.
Here's an example using the past tense of aller (to go):
Je suis allé(e).
Tu es allé(e).
Il est allé.
Elle est allé.
Nous sommes allé(e)s.
Vous êtes allé(e)(s)
Ils sont allés.
Elles sont allées.
The endings stay the same for each verb, and the rules are the same if the subject is say, une lampe, and not a personal pronoun. Just don't forget to agree.
In addition, when you have a direct object in the past tense and are using the helping verb avoir, then you'll have to make the verb agree with the direct object. It's also important to know the gender in these cases. Here's an example:
A: Est-ce que vous avez fait la tarte? (Did you make the pie?)
B: Oui, je l'ai faite. (Yes, I made it.)
Since the direct object in this sentence was feminine, you have to agree the verb. The endings are the same as when you use the helping verb être.
Fun Tools for French Gender Practice
The good news is that by reading, listening carefully and practicing, noun genders and agreements will become second nature to you.
Cracking open a book is one of the best ways to learn vocabulary and, in turn, subconsciously learn your he's from your she's. You can even get away with reading comic books or magazines.
For intermediate learners who have developed an ear for subtleties in the French language, watching films or using audio resources can help increase your overall fluency.
And learners of any level can use a program like FluentU to see French gender rules being applied "in the wild" in native French speech. That's because FluentU has many authentic French videos like movie and TV show clips, news segments, interviews, vlogs and more.
And since each video has interactive subtitles, you can check the meaning of any word with a click. This means you can easily see the gender of a word, its definition in the context it's being used in, example sentences and videos and an option to save it as a flashcard for review.
Save words you struggle with into a flashcard deck and practice them with the personalized quizzes on FluentU. Or download the iOS or Android app for the inclusion of speaking questions, which let you practice pronunciation, as well.
Before you know it, you'll actually hear the difference between la and le in fast-talking films without straining your ears.
And of course, we're all looking for excuses to play games and donate rice. Right? This website lets you answer questions about different subjects (including French), and with every question you get right, ten grains of rice are donated to people in need. A lot of the questions are vocabulary questions, including the gender of the noun in the question.
As you delve into the fun world of the past tense, pronouns and compound tenses, you'll find the gender of your nouns becoming more and more important. There may seem to be no sense to it—and often there isn't—but it's something we French speakers must try to conquer, both beginners and fluent speakers alike!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)


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US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett returned to Capitol Hill for a third day of confirmation hearings, called "unashamedly pro-life" by her Republican Senate champion with Democrats running out of time to stop her quick confirmation.
Senators are trying to dig deeper into the conservative judge's outlook on abortion, health care and a potentially disputed presidential election, but Ms Barrett has been batting away questions in long and lively exchanges, insisting she would bring no personal agenda to the court but decide cases "as they come".
Her nomination by President Donald Trump to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has ground other legislative business to a halt as Republicans excited by the prospect of locking in a 6-3 conservative court majority race to confirm her over Democratic objections before election day.
"She's going to the court," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee chairman, said as the proceedings got under way after a nearly 12-hour session the day before.
Unashamedly pro-lifeSenator Lindsey Graham, describing Amy Coney Barrett
Mr Graham said Mr Trump had made history by nominating someone "who is unashamedly pro-life".
But Mr Graham said, as Ms Barrett has, that she would be able to set her personal views aside when deciding cases on abortion.
Democrats worry that Ms Barrett will vote to undermine abortion rights.
Ms Barrett's nomination has been the focus at a Capitol mostly shut down by Covid-19 protocols, frustrating Democrats who are virtually powerless to stop a judge from confirmation.
They warn she will be seated on the court in time to cast a vote to undo the Affordable Care Act next month, causing millions of Americans to lose coverage during a pandemic.
"People are fed up," said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, criticising Republican priorities in forcing the Senate action as the country suffers from the pandemic and Congress squabbles over approving additional economic aid.
The 48-year-old appellate court judge declared her conservative views in often colloquial language, but she refused many specifics on Tuesday.
She aligns with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative mentor, and declined to say whether she would recuse herself from any election-related cases involving Mr Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
"Judges can't just wake up one day and say I have an agenda — I like guns, I hate guns, I like abortion, I hate abortion — and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world," Ms Barrett told the committee during its second day of hearings.
"It's not the law of Amy," she said.
"It's the law of the American people."
Mr Trump seemed pleased with her performance.
"I think Amy's doing incredibly well," he said at the White House departing for a campaign rally.
Mr Trump has said he wants a justice seated for any disputes arising from his heated campaign against Mr Biden, but Ms Barrett gave evidence she has not spoken to Mr Trump or his team about election cases.
Pressed by Democrats, she skipped past questions about ensuring the date of the election or preventing voter intimidation, both set in federal law, and the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
She declined to commit to recusing herself from any post-election cases without first consulting the other justices.
"I can't offer an opinion on recusal without short-circuiting that entire process," she said.
A frustrated Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the panel, all but implored the nominee to be more specific about how she would handle landmark abortion cases, including Roe v. Wade and the follow-up Pennsylvania case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which confirmed it in large part.
"It's distressing not to get a good answer," the US senator from California told the judge.
Ms Barrett was unmoved.
"I don't have an agenda to try to overrule Casey," she said.
"I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come."
She later declined to characterise the Roe v. Wade decision that legalised abortion as a "super-precedent" that must not be overturned.
Democrats had no such reticence.
"Let's not make any mistake about it," said California Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, appearing remotely due to Covid-19 concerns.
Allowing Mr Trump to fill the seat with Barrett "poses a threat to safe and legal abortion in our country", Ms Harris said.
The Senate, led by Mr Trump's Republican allies, is pushing Ms Barrett's nomination to a quick vote before November 3, and ahead of the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which the Supreme Court is to hear a week after the election.
Democrats warn that she would be a vote to undo the Obamacare law.
"I'm not hostile to the ACA," Ms Barrett told the senators.
The judge, accompanied by her family, described herself as taking a conservative, originalist approach to the Constitution.
She would be Mr Trump's third justice.
Underscoring the Republicans' confidence, Mr Graham set an initial committee vote on the nomination for Thursday, the last day of hearings, which would allow final approval by the full Senate by the end of the month.
Protesters rallied outside the Senate building, unable to come inside the hearing room.


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Private Lessons
The optional private lesson program at Rogers Middle School is an integral part of the individual progress and achievement of each student. Each lesson offers your child a unique experience that he or she cannot receive during a regular classroom setting. Private lessons are held either before school, during the student's band class, or after school based on the student's availability and private teacher's schedule. Each in-class lesson is half the school period or 22 minutes in length, of which your student will have 100% of the instructor's attention. Each lesson consists of a weekly one-on-one instructional period with an instrumental specialist who will develop an individualized plan for each student based on ability, progress and desire. Each private lesson teacher has been selected by the directors and have gone through background checks with the district.
Private lessons are highly encouraged for all students regardless of their age and ability level. The most successful student musicians come from strong private lesson programs and tend to progress at a faster rate. The directors believe strongly in the private lesson program and believe that it is a worthwhile endeavor for each student to explore.
We have a limited amount of financial aid for students throughout the school year. Parents will need to reapply each year to request consideration for private lesson financial aid, even if the student received financial aid from the previous year. We do this to help keep our records up to date and to ensure the need still remains. The application is available on the band website at www.rogersband.com/financial-aid-for-private-lessons. All completed applications should be sent directly to Mr. Ferman. If you have any questions about private lessons, please contact any of the directors.
Private Lesson Staff
Stephanie Kalina - Flute
(817) 880-4205
University of Texas at Arlington
Bachelor of Music – Flute Performance
University of Texas at Arlington
Master of Music – Flute Performance
Ashley Rollins - Oboe
University of Michigan
Bachelor of Music – Oboe Performance
University of North Texas
Master of Music – Oboe Performance
Dr. Dasom Nam - Clarinet
University of Texas
Bachelor of Music
Eastman School of Music
Master of Music – Clarinet Performance
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DMA - Clarinet Performance/Literature
Ashley Nolte - Clarinet
Texas Tech University
Bachelor of Music - Music Education
University of North Texas
Master of Music - Music Education
Kevin Jones - Bassoon
University of Oklahoma
Bachelor of Music – Music Education
University of North Texas
Master of Music – Bassoon Performance
(in progress)
Kevin Ford - Saxophone
University of North Texas
Bachelor of Music Education
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Master of Music - Saxophone Performance
Preston Lewis - Saxophone
Texas Christian University
Bachelor of Music Education
Texas Christian University
Master of Music - Saxophone Performance
Julia Stulting-Flores - Trumpet
Angelo State University
Bachelor of Music - Music Education
Austin Andrade - Trombone
Texas Christian University
Bachelors of Music Performance
Southern Methodist University
Masters of Music - Trombone Performance (2024)
Jung-Moo Lee - Tuba
(972) 672-3871
College of Music at Kei-Myung University
Bachelor of Music – Tuba Performance
University of North Texas
Master of Musical Arts – Tuba Performance
University of North Texas
Doctor of Musical Arts(ABD) – Tuba Performance


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Reincarnation and Suicide-Introduction
Article by Walter Semkiw, MD
Ian Stevenson, MD, documented a number of reincarnation cases in which an individual committed suicide in the past life. Phobias or behaviors in the contemporary lifetime are observed related to the manner suicide was committed in the past lifetime.
Though suicide is something that tragic for all involved, it is reassuring that evolution for the soul continues.
The symbol for reincarnation cases involving suicide is an X, representing negation, on a green background, which symbolizes life.
Reincarnation Cases involving Suicide


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Florida Food Banks >> Perry Food Assistance
Food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries in Perry FL
|First Baptist Church of Perry - Our Father's Storehouse
Perry, FL 32347
|Details: Providing for the physical and spiritual needs of the community, Our Father's Storehouse is a food and clothing bank, located at 402 East Ash Street (behind the old Doctor's Hospital Building.) Those in need can come by on Wednesdays, from 2-5 p.m., for ministry. Drop off goods on Tuesdays, from 9-11 a.m.


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Students should remain on hybrid schedule for remainder of school year
March 2, 2021
Who knew that tragedy could hold a little silver lining.
Over 300 days ago, the nation, Ohio and the little community of Tallmadge were all shut down in the blink of an eye. As the Covid-19 virus swept the nation, online learning became the "norm" for millions of students. As we could all probably conclude, it was not the most effective way to continue education.
However, in August of 2020, Tallmadge High School returned to a hybrid in-person learning system. The school was divided in two, and students attended class every other day. On days off, students had assignments to complete but were never mandated to attend online classes.
Although the lack of routine and daily schedules left some students estranged from their usual learning processes, the hybrid schedule has benefited other students in a multitude of ways.
Personally, as an honors student, three-sport athlete, community volunteer and teenage girl, time management is something that molds my day to day. With more opportunities on remote days to sleep, complete schoolwork, and decompress, my mental health, physical health, and grades have drastically improved. I support the hybrid schedule for the remainder of the school year because although on March 13th, 2020, our world was turned upside down by a global pandemic, myself and others now have the time to not only enjoy but thrive in our daily academic and personal endeavors.
When arguing for a five-day school week, one must not forget about the factors that led the district to the hybrid learning schedule in the first place.
"It seems like there are still lots of people at school catching the virus, and even though teachers will have had the vaccine, students will not. I just don't think it's worth the risk of infecting kids and their families. I think we should stick with the hybrid schedule because it has been pretty effective at limiting the number of people at the school who get the virus," senior Claudia Palmer said.
Social distancing is still heavily enforced and mandated through the State. However, with the new plan to return to school, Tallmadge is allowing students to sit three feet away instead of six. Overall, with teachers being vaccinated and cases going down slightly, a still very real threat is being downsized in return for only a couple more days in the classroom a week.
So, as this extraordinary school year is slowly coming to an end, the responsibility to keep students of all grades happy, thriving, and in good health, should be taken with the highest concern.
If you think students should remain on the hybrid schedule for the rest of the semester, email or talk to Superintendent Steve Wood with your opinions. Speaking up can help ensure our students remain in a beneficial and safe environment for the rest of the year.
For more information regarding this topic, please watch Broadcast Editor Jackson Queen's interview with Superintendent Steve Wood at the link below. The live interview took place Feb. 26 and is content on the Tallmadge Schools Broadcast YouTube channel.


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Killing Medusa
by Marblebee$5,000.00
The best quality statue of Killing Medusa
- Customized size and shape
- Elegant design for a contemporary home
- Free shipping to home address
- 100% refund guarantee If there is shipping damage
by Marblebee$5,000.00
The best quality statue of Killing Medusa
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There is a fountain design for every occasion. Whether you're indoors or outdoors, big or small, simple or...
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A good bathtub can make your bathroom a place of leisure and comfort where you go to unwind...
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The bathtub, marble slab and basins are beautiful, true works of art. We enjoyed liaising with Jack Goa and requested a lot of information back and forth via e-mail and he was very patient and provided great service!
We order a solid sandstone papillon bathtub from Marblebee Ltd and they delivered an amazing product. We really love our new bathtub.
This Review is written by a customer who is building a lake home in Tennessee. I made a substantial order from Jack Gao Hope you enjoy the pictures, and let me give another 5 STAR shout out to Jack!
I was so happy when I uncrated the bathtub! At first I was quite skeptical about ordering a bathtub online and only from pictures of the block of stone it was to be carved from. After sending me pictures of several different stones, I chose one and proceeded to send Jack a picture of a stone tub I found here in the States. Still not knowing how the tub would turn out, I was so relieved when my contractor uncovered the tub and it was more beautiful than I expected. Thanks Jack! Only one note to consider-in addition to the drain hole, consider drilling an overflow hole in your tub. I'm very happy irregardless.
Fantastic bathtub!!! Excellent communication throughout. I was sent pictures of the tub as it was being created. What a great experience. I highly recommend working with this company!! Thank you for the beautiful tub.
We have worked with Marblebee Ltd for several projects.They are extremely good to work with, reliable, and communicative.This is our first time working directly with a supplier overseas.They make it very easy!
I wish I could post the pictures of my beautiful 8 by 10 foot travertine mantel. It is absolutely amazing. Jack was so easy to work with and he brought my vision of an elephant and palm tree scene to life.
Excellent quality and excellent product/price. Would recommend them to anyone. We wanted them to hand carve a custom fireplace and they did exactly what we wanted. the attention to detail was fantastic.
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text: Our decolonise sociology reading group "The Undisciplined Readers" will be starting on Friday 28th Jan at 12:30- 1:30pm UK. This term we are excited to be collaborating with artists and academics from "Monumentoclasm: workshop in anti-colonial imagination" for this term. We will be meeting bi-weekly to discuss pre-circulated texts. Meetings and Readings Friday 28th Jan (12:30pm) - De... Continue Reading →


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W. Austin Gardner
Dealing with Church Members as Deacons and Leaders 2
We withdraw from those who walk disorderly II Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
II Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
I Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
We do not respond in kind to those that try to hurt us
Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
I Corinthians 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
How does that look in practice
We are to love those that hate us.
Do what Jesus did I John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
We are not to retaliate.
We are to bless those that curse us and do good to those who do evil to us.
Our weapons are spiritual ones.
We are to fight hatred with love, selfishness with unselfishness, cursing with blessing, greed with generosity, unkindness with kindness, criticism with prayer, and bad with good.
I am not to go to court with a Christian brother or sister.
Stay in the Word of God. Psalm 119:165 Nothing shall offend them.
Thinking about how to respond to those that sin against us, offend us, hurt us, etc. Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
Be prepared to forgive even before you get to this point Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Do not put the sin on their account
Be prepared to suffer instead of getting even
Trust God to work it out instead of you trying to prove anything
Treat them well no matter how slighted you feel
Practicing forgiveness
God's people are to be a forgiving people. The forgiven forgive! Matthew 18:23-35
This is what we are called to do I Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
How failing to forgive affects us!
It imprisons believers in the past
It keeps the pain alive and the sore open
It never allows the wound to heal
It feeds anger and resentment
It robs us of the joy of living
Forgiveness will free us from the past, let us out of prison
It produces bitterness
Bitterness is not only a sin but an infection that affects many people Hebrews 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Bitterness causes us to speak sarcastically, slanderously, and cutting
Bitterness will distort your entire outlook on life
Bitterness will cause you to have violent emotions
Bitterness will cause you to be intolerant and think of revenge
It is hard to understand why others would not forgive us isn't it
We understand that we didn't mean it or are sorry and do not want to do it again
Selfishness causes us to exaggerate the faults of others
Humility helps us see the offenses against us as insignificant
We are to forgive even if they do not ask for it
That is what Jesus did Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
That is what Stephan did as they stoned him Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Jesus taught us to not put a limit on forgiveness Matthew 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.


text: Pries Opens New Multi-Million Dollar Anodizing Line Attracting 40 New Jobs posted on 11/22/2019 in Projects After a year of construction on a new 50,000 square foot expansion, Pries Enterprises has announced the opening of their new anodizing line. Pries will now be a vertically integrated one stop shop for aluminum extrusions, anodizing and fabrication. The expansion will open several new doors for the company and its customers. "Our new anodizing line will allow us to dramatically reduce our lead times for our customers," said Pries Enterprises President Matt McMahon. "We will now be able to anodize over 25 million pounds of aluminum per year." The anodizing line is fully-automated and boasts 36 foot tanks – making it unique to not only Iowa, but also the entire Midwest. With in-house anodizing, Pries will be able to guarantee extruded and anodized aluminum in just four weeks," said McMahon. "Providing better lead times will help our customers reduce inventory and increase their cash flow. Also, anodizing in house allows us to control our quality and offer our customers even better service." Pries partnered with Joe Andrade of Andrade Anodize Consulting to help oversee the construction and startup of the new line. Operations are set to start this week. McMahon says the expansion will create around 40 new jobs, providing new opportunities for residents of Independence and surrounding areas. With its new anodizing line, Pries will offer 34 foot length capabilities, Conventional Sulfuric Type II anodize coatings, acid and conventional caustic etches, clear and architectural bronze coatings up to class I, bronze colors ranging from champagne to black, and AAMA 611-compliant Class I and Class II coatings. Pries Enterprises is a family-owned aluminum extrusion manufacturer located in Independence, Iowa. Since 1976, Pries Enterprises has provided extruded aluminum and fabricated parts to companies in the Midwest and throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.priesenterprises.com. Article contributed by Pries Enterprises Tags project workforce


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Elements Quad-Width Media Cabinet
by BDI
The Elements collection is a versatile cabinet group that allows the customer to create personalized, beautiful media cabinets and storage consoles. Created with a unique laser-cutting process, door panels have sections selectively removed leaving intricate eye-catching patterns. Backed with perforated metal, the doors provide an open appearance, while keeping contents concealed. You can customize your cabinet by choosing from two cabinet sizes, 3 laser-cut door patterns, two base configuations, and 2 beautiful finishes.
Elements' doors are manufactured through a unique laser-cutting process in which computer-guided lasers allow creation of precise and intricate patterns. A process rarely seen on wood, the laser sears the wood panel as it cuts, protecting the wood and creating compelling dimension to the negative space.
- Four-compartment wide cabinet.
- Double-width center compartment opens to reveal a large storage shelf suitable for use with most soundbar speakers.
- Accommodates TVs up to 85 inches.
- 8-12 Component capacity.
- Adjustable shelves.
- 175 lb. top shelf capacity.
- Touch latches.)
About the Manufacturer
Materials: Metal, Wood
Overall: 30.3" H x 79" W x 20" D
Overall Product Weight: 174
Number of Shelves Behind Doors: 1
Shelves are Adjustable: Yes
Accomodates TVs up to 85"
Assembly Required: Yes
Click here for California Proposition 65 Disclosure.


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Many of you have reached out to me for an informational interview or to learn more about technology consulting. Most do well, but still a decent number of people have done questionable things that would raise red flags to working professionals. My thoughts is that they are not intentional but just uninformed!
I'm finally made a video about how to do networking the RIGHT way. I have been on both sides as a college student and as a technology consultant at Accenture, and there are still a few things that bothered me or I learned the hard way. Hopefully you can all benefit from this video! I will have another video on Thursday specifically on how to conduct a good informational interview!
Any questions at all about the information I provided or about Accenture or technology consulting, please let me know!


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About Oband's Janitorial
Oband's Janitorial is a locally owned and operated full service janitorial company. Established in 1992, we specialize in servicing government agencies. Oband's management team collectively has over 18 years facility service experience. We pride ourselves in delivering a wide array of services including building maintenance, janitorial services, preservation services, carpet cleaning, window cleaning, painting, construction clean up and floor stripping and waxing.
Oband's is also a flooring contractor.
We have built a strong and successful track record by providing high quality services, competitive rates and highly qualified personnel that are ready to offer professional cleaning services to your agency.
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Earlier this week, Google leaked a new app called Files Go on the Play Store for managing and sharing files, but the page was pulled pretty quickly after it went live. Now, the company is bringing the app back in the form of an early dev build as a beta for anyone who wants to try it out.
Files Go is designed to help users manage files and clear out free space on their phones by automatically finding apps they aren't using, plus other storage wasters like duplicate photos. But the more interesting portion of the app is the ability to send and receive files from other local Android devices without requiring internet connectivity (similar to Apple's AirDrop).
As noted before, it would seem that Files Go is part of Google's Android Go initiative, which aims to provide an operating system and apps for smartphones that have less powerful specs and more limited access to cellular data. Apps like YouTube Go, which is also in beta, offer similar features, with local file sharing for downloaded videos. With that in mind, Files Go feels like a natural next step, applying that same logic to the rest of the files on a device.
The Files Go Beta is available now on the Play Store, but Google has yet to say when the final version will be released — or if, like YouTube Go, it will be restricted to specific regions when it is.


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On his very first day at the European Parliament as a newly elected MEP last week, 57-year-old Spaniard Josep Borrell turned his back for a minute…and had his mobile phone stolen.
It was enough to make anyone appeal to the Almighty, although that would probably not have done much good: Borrell is seen as largely responsible for keeping God out of Europe's new constitution.
Still, there was some consolation – in his election as the Socialist candidate for Parliament's top job.
If all goes according to plan, the Catalan will make history in a few days by being elected the assembly's next president: the only new MEP to occupy the plum post since the first direct elections in 1979.
And it's a job worth having: there's the ten-strong staff and the chauffeur-driven car. Not to mention the chance to rub shoulders with prime ministers at summits.
It's all a far cry from Borrell's humble beginnings.
Born in 1947 in a small village in the Catalan Pyrenees, his family worked as bakers and between the ages of ten and 16, he combined his schooling with a job at the family bakery.
The next decade saw him studying in Madrid, Paris and California.
But this is a man who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty and during his youth he had an eclectic assortment of jobs: everything from building-site worker in Düsseldorf and farm-hand in Denmark to restaurant plate-washer in London and grape-picker in France.
For ten years he worked as an aeronautical engineer before entering politics for the first time in 1979, as a councillor in Madrid.
Quickly rising through the ranks, he served as finance secretary of state during the first Felipe González government, spearheading a major drive against tax dodgers.
Borrell rose to national prominence in the late 1980s when he locked horns with the famous Spanish flamenco singer Lola Flores in a high-profile tax-evasion case.
The much-loved La Faraona, as she was known, had failed to declare her income for three years and, despite her iconic status, Borrell was not afraid of making an example of her, threatening to jail her unless she made good her unpaid taxes.
"It became known as the Borrell vs Flores battle," recalls Enrique Serbeto, a journalist with the Spanish daily ABC. "He wanted to show he was in charge and he did."
Borrell won popular acclaim for his get-tough stance and also for his next ministerial post, public works and transport, a five-year reign that saw a massive road construction programme in Spain.
In April 1998, two years after the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) lost narrowly in a general election, the party's Secretary-General, Joaquín Almunia, went head-to-head with Borrell in a contest to choose the party's candidate for prime minister, fully expecting a comfortable victory.
Never the party apparatchik, Borrell did not have the backing of the charismatic González.
Instead, during the campaign, Borrell emphasized the need to reform the party and sought to distance himself from González.
He shocked many by winning.
The boy from the backwoods – the party outsider – had finally made it to the top of the Socialist party.
But within 12 months, his hopes of becoming the country's prime minister lay in tatters.
In May 1999, a fraud investigation was launched into two officials who, several years earlier, Borrell had appointed to senior posts in the finance ministry.
Though not involved in the inquiry into property purchases, Borrell resigned, saying he did not want the affair to damage his party's chances in the upcoming local and general elections.
"For Josep, it was a matter of honour," says a Borrell aide. "He was well in front in the public opinion polls and was on course to win the 2000 elections but he sacrificed his personal ambitions for the sake of his party."
A senior Spanish MEP, however, has a very different take on the affair: "Borrell comes from the Left of the party and there were a lot of party members who hated him because he wanted to sever his party's links with the González era.
"He wasn't the choice of González or the party hierarchy for the leadership and they did their level best to get rid of him."
He adds: "I think he quit because he was so fed-up with his own party. They were making his life impossible."
In any event it barely mattered: the Socialists, with Almunia now installed as leader, were heavily beaten at the polls by José María Aznar's centre-right Popular Party.
Within hours of the defeat, Almunia had stepped down as leader and Borrell found himself consigned to the opposition backbenches.
A political comeback of sorts came two years later when Borrell was appointed the Spanish parliament's representative on the European Convention, which drafted the EU constitution. Almunia had to wait a bit longer for his consolation prize: his appointment as Spain's new commissioner, in April this year.
Opinion is split on Borrell's impact on the Convention. One fellow conventioneer said he "didn't particularly impress" but senior German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok, another Convention member, praised the "positive contribution" he made.
What is not disputed is the role Borrell played in ensuring that all references to divinity were expunged from the constitution's final text. He certainly ruffled a few feathers when he produced a paper, entitled Let's Leave God Out of This, which glossed over Christmas as a "pagan ritual" that celebrated the winter solstice.
Borrell said at the time: "A lot of our values have been forged against the Church or the churches. We should remember the whole story: the massacres of the Crusaders; the knights of St Bartholomew and the Inquisition's auto-da-fé; Galileo, the pogroms and turning a blind eye to fascism."
He added: "When it comes to democracy, human rights and equality, God is a recent convert. He was comfortable for centuries with slavery."
This was music to the ears of the French and Spanish élites, each shaped by a long struggle against clericalism.
But it was controversial stuff. So too, it is suggested, is his looming elevation to Parliament's top job.
For many, Borrell's rival for the post, UK deputy Terry Wynn, was a better-qualified and more experienced man.
While not questioning his credentials, some Socialist MEPs say Borrell now finds himself poised to lead the Parliament as a result of anti-UK feeling over the Iraq war. "It was a fix by the Spanish and French Socialists," said one. "They wanted to kick the Brits over Iraq."
If elected president, Borrell is tipped to appoint a Frenchman as his head of cabinet.
While acknowledging his undoubted record in domestic politics, Spanish centre-right deputy Iñigo Méndez de Vigo says it is "surprising and strange" that Borrell could be elected president next Tuesday (20 July) before he has even completed his first formal week as an MEP.
Gary Titley, leader of the UK Socialist delegation in Parliament, comments: "Borrell has got a good track record but it is very difficult to come to a place like this, with its Byzantine ways, and quickly get on top of things. He may find it difficult, but that will be the test of the man."
But newly elected MEP, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Danish premier and now president of the Party of European Socialists, says: "It was an open and transparent election and Borrell is a good communicator and will represent the Parliament well."
Former centre-right MEP and Spanish foreign minister Ana Palacio agrees, but warns Borrell faces a particularly steep learning curve.
"He's intelligent and sensible and, although I'm surprised by his nomination, if he shows the commitment, he'll make a good president," she said.
"But it's a big challenge and he will miss the experience of not having been an MEP before: a case of having to run before he walks."
Borrell, who headed his party's list for the European elections but had to settle for a far narrower-than-expected win, will need plenty of allies such as Rasmussen, as he seems to have made his fair share of enemies over the years.
"He's a Catalan who rejects the nationalist cause," said a journalist at the Spanish daily El Pais. "For many Catalans, that is the ultimate crime."
A senior Spanish centre-right MEP observed: "Borrell has a reputation for being arrogant. He likes to be the 'head boy' and this irks a lot of people, not least in his own party."
Borrell, who enjoys rowing in his spare time, has two sons from his marriage to a Frenchwoman. The two are now divorced. He lives in Madrid with his new partner, Spanish Environment Minister Christina Navona.
Intriguingly, when asked by a senior member of the former Aznar administration why he was standing for election as an MEP, Borrell allegedly said: "Because I've heard the Parliament is a nice place to go for a rest." This answer might just be seen as cheeky, since the person to whom he was talking was an MEP. But, as he discovered with the theft of his phone, the Parliament is also a place where it pays not to let your guard slip. It is a lesson that may serve him well over the next few years.
Martin Banks