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Black-tailed skimmer

The black-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) is a dragonfly belonging to the family Libellulidae.

Distribution
This species is widespread in Europe and Asia. It is found throughout European continent including the Mediterranean islands but is absent in the north of Britain and the northern half of Fennoscandia. This is one of the most common European species and it is still increasing its range northwards. To the east, the range extends over central Asia to Kashmir, Mongolia to the northern parts of China and Arunachal Pradesh in India.

It is present in Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (Corsica, and mainland), Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey (Turkey-in-Europe), Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and in part of United Kingdom.

The black-tailed skimmer is abundant throughout its range and is one of the most commonly seen dragonflies in Europe. It holds a stable population and has no known major threats.

This species has expanded its range, assisted by the creation of gravel pits which give it the extensive open unvegetated areas it prefers. It was first recorded in Great Britain in Essex in 1934. It is decreasing rapidly in the Maltese Islands.

Habitat
This dragonfly is found at any open water with bare patches along the shore where the patrolling males frequently rest in the sun. It also inhabits near slow-flowing waters. It favors lakes, slow rivers, ponds and sometimes marshy area, without dense riparian vegetation. Females are less bold and not encountered as regularly. Adults prefer to perch on bare ground and rocks.

Description
It is a fairly large dragonfly (the length of 47–53 mm, 29–35 mm abdomen, rear wing 35–41 mm.) with relatively broad, flattened abdomen, but not as broad as to chaser species. With age, adult males develop extensive blue pruinescence on their abdomen, offset by yellow lateral patches. The middle lobe of the pronotum is large and notched in the middle. The chest is yellow or yellowish-brown. The base of the hind wings do not show a dark opaque spots. The pterostigma is dark brown or black. On the front wings pterostigma 2–3 mm long. Anal appendages are black. The females and immature males are a deep yellow color, with wavy black lines dorsally on their abdomen. Males and females have the costal vein (the leading edge of the wing) yellow or black.

The species is similar to its much more localized congener the Orthetrum albistylum, but readily identifiable in the field. The males develop a blue pruinescence on the abdomen darkening to the rear with S8-10 becoming black. Its eyes are very dark green. They fly swift and low, skimming the water surface. Females retain their color and markings though they become quite grayish brown with age. This species could be confused with Keeled skimmer or Scarce chaser.

Adults
♂: Adult males have a bluish or blue-gray patina on the body, gradually darkening with age. They have a blue abdomen with a black tip and transparent wings. The young have a grid pattern on a yellow-brownish abdomen.

♀: Adult females have a yellow-brownish abdomen with a lattice pattern (wide longitudinal dark brown stripes and bright crescent-shaped spots) and transparent wings. 10 tergite of abdomen is black. Even the abdomen of the immature males looks that way.

Adults can reach a length of about 47–53 mm. Average wingspan is about 77 mm, while hindwings are 35–40 mm long. The eyes are dorsally narrowly apposed to dorsally broadly contiguous. They are brown (in the female), or blue (in the male). Legs are black and brown (the femoral bases brown). Thoracic antehumeral stripes are absent. The wings spread more or less horizontally in repose. They are dissimilar in shape and venation, sessile, unpatterned and clear. The inner wing venation is blackish. Discoidal cell is divided longitudinally into a conspicuous triangle and supra-triangle. There are antenodal veins in the forewings 10–13 (fewer in the hindwings). Pterostigma is well over twice but no more than five times as long as wide. Abdomen is lanceolate and 30–35 mm long; predominantly blue (in the male), or brown (in the female), or grey (sometimes, in old females). It is rather plain (in the male, but often with orange lateral markings, and darkened over the terminal segments), or predominantly longitudinally lined (the female with a dark medio-lateral band on either side along each segment); without mid-dorsal spots. The male abdomen is without auricles on segment 2; with a single inferior anal appendage.

Nymphs
The nymphs are stout, body is expanded in the middle. When mature, they are 23–25.5 mm long. The postocular lobes is curving sharply to the back of the head from some distance behind the eyes. The antennae is 7 segmented. The mask have the prementum hollowed dorsally. The prementum bears three (rarely two or four) long setae inserted near each lateral margin, and two medial fields of seven to eight short spiniform setae, the latter flanked by four setae of medium length. The body of the labial palps bears 6 or 7 major setae. Distal margins of the labial palps are weakly crenate. Legs are longer than the abdomen. The abdomen terminates in five short spine-like appendages. The cerci are no more than half the length of the paraprocts. The abdomen has mid-dorsal spines. The mid-dorsal abdominal spines are prominent on segments 3 to 6. The abdomen is without a mid-dorsal spine on segment 8; gizzard with 4–8 folds.

Biology and behavior
The main flight period is June and July. Males characteristically perch horizontally on exposed surfaces. They fly swift and low, skimming the water surface, while defending their territories. Mating can occur in flight or on land.

Females oviposit alone but with male in attendance. Eggs are laid in flight by dipping abdomen onto water surface. They hatch after five or six weeks and the larvae live partially hidden by bottom debris. They emerge after two or three years. Larvae prefer bottom areas rich in vegetation and decaying plant material.

title: Black-tailed skimmer


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Natural Bridges National Monument

Natural Bridges National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about 50 mi northwest of the Four Corners boundary of southeast Utah, in the western United States, at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, part of the Colorado River drainage. It features the thirteenth largest natural bridge in the world, carved from the white Permian sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation that gives White Canyon its name.

The three bridges in the park are named Kachina, Owachomo, and Sipapu (the largest), which are all Hopi names. A natural bridge is formed through erosion by water flowing in the stream bed of the canyon. During periods of flash floods, particularly, the stream undercuts the walls of rock that separate the meanders (or "goosenecks") of the stream until the rock wall within the meander is undercut and the meander is cut off and the new stream bed then flows underneath the bridge. Eventually, as erosion and gravity enlarge the bridge's opening, the bridge collapses under its own weight. There is evidence of at least two collapsed natural bridges within the Monument.

History
Humans have lived in the area around Natural Bridges since as early as 7500 BCE, as shown by rock art and stone tools found at nearby sites. Around 700 CE ancestors of modern Puebloan people moved to the site, constructing stone and mortar buildings and granaries. These structures share similarities with those found in Mesa Verde National Park, which can be seen distantly, to the east, from the Bears Ears on the park's eastern border. Like the people of Mesa Verde, the residents of Natural Bridges seem to have left the region around the year 1270.

Europeans first visited the area in 1883 when gold prospector, Cass Hite followed White Canyon upstream, from the Colorado River, and found the bridges near the junction of White and Armstrong canyons. In 1904, the National Geographic Magazine publicized the bridges and the area was designated a National Monument on April 16, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt. It is Utah's first National Monument.

The Monument was nearly inaccessible for many decades as reflected by the visitor log kept by the Monument's superintendents. Reaching the site from Blanding, Utah, the nearest settlement would take a three-day horseback ride. The park received little visitation until after the uranium boom of the 1950s, which resulted in the creation of new roads in the area, including modern-day Utah State Route 95, which was paved in 1976.

Geology
The bridges and other features present on the Colorado Plateau today were molded by the processes of erosion. The destructive forces of wind and rain, running water, and freezing temperatures attacked the uplifts as soon as all the tectonic havoc started in the Late Cretaceous. The Colorado Plateau has been uplifted about 12,000 ft since the end of the Cretaceous about 66 million years ago.

Some of this uplift occurred geologically rapidly. As the rate of uplift increased, so did the rate of erosion. The Colorado River, for example, carved its present course within the last 6 million years. With uplift, streams throughout the Colorado Plateau began to dissect the topography into the landscape we see today with unprecedented vigor, carving the rocks and carrying away the dismantled strata into the landscape we see today.

The Monument's elevation ranges up to 6500 ft. The Monument's vegetation is predominantly pinyon-juniper forest, with grass and shrubs (brittle brush, Mormon tea, sage, etc.) typical of the high-elevation Utah desert. In the canyons, where there is more water and seasonal streams, riparian desert plants, such as willow, oak, and cottonwood trees, thrive. Because the Monument has been closed to grazing for nearly a century, and off-road motorized travel is restricted, Natural Bridges contains extensive areas of undisturbed, mature cryptobiotic soils.

Bridge collapse
Potential bridge collapse is possible at Natural Bridges National Monument, especially along the span of Owachomo Bridge in Armstrong Canyon which is only 9 ft thick at the crest of its span.

Earthquake potential is high along the Moab Fault near Arches National Park, Southeast Utah Group (SEUG). While this and other faults in the Paradox Basin are associated with salt structures, the Colorado Plateau interior does possess a low level of seismic hazard. Ground shaking from earthquakes may impact the bridges at Natural Bridges National Monument causing catastrophic failure of one or more of the bridges.

Attractions

The main attractions are the natural bridges, accessible from the Bridge View Drive, which winds along the park and goes by all three bridges, and by hiking trails leading down to the bases of the bridges. There is also a campground and picnic areas and a visitor center within the park. Electricity in the park comes entirely from a large solar array near the visitor center.

In 2007, the International Dark-Sky Association named Natural Bridges the first International Dark-Sky Park, which is a designation that recognizes not only that the park has some of the darkest and clearest skies in all of the United States, but also that the park has made every effort to conserve the natural dark as a resource worthy of protection. , Natural Bridges has the only night sky monitored by the NPS Night Sky Team that rates a Class 2 on the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, giving it the darkest sky ever assessed.

Horsecollar Ruin is an Ancestral Puebloan ruin visible from an overlook a short hike from Bridge View Drive. The site was abandoned more than 700 years ago but is in a remarkable state of preservation, including an undisturbed rectangular kiva with the original roof and interior, and two granaries with unusual oval-shaped doors whose shape resembles horse collars (hence the site's name).

Biology
Animal species found in the National Monument include birds such as the pinyon jay, canyon wren, and turkeys (which were reintroduced by the State of Utah to the table-lands above the Monument) and mammals like rabbits, pack rats, bobcats, coyotes, bears, mule deer, and mountain lion. The Monument's pygmy rattlesnakes have been the subject of occasional study; several lizard species common to southern Utah are abundant. In May 2006, KSL Newsradio reported a case of plague found in dead field mice and chipmunks at Natural Bridges.

Native plant species include willow, cottonwood, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, juniper, grasses, annuals, and perennials such as asters, penstemons, buckwheats, and Indian paintbrush, and various shrubs such as dwarf oaks, bayberry, manzanita, buffaloberry, rabbitbrush, black brush, brittle brush, Apache's plume, sage, yucca, and Mormon tea. Invasive species include tumbleweeds, certain thistles, dandelions, and tamarisk.

Much of the Monument's ground is covered in communities of cryptobiotic soil crusts, which prevents soil erosion and promotes the retention of soil nutrients.

Climate
Natural Bridges National Monument has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk) with cold winters and hot summers.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Natural Bridges National Monument


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Notice of proposed rulemaking

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is a public notice that is issued by law when a U.S. federal agency wishes to add, remove, or change a rule or regulation as part of the rulemaking process. The notice is an important part of US administrative law, which facilitates government by typically creating a process of taking of public comment. The term is also used at the state level in the United States.

Procedure
Although it is not required by the US Constitution, NPRM is required and defined by the Administrative Procedure Act, section 553. The US Congress created the requirement to enlighten agencies and to force them to listen to comments and concerns of people who will likely be affected by the regulation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples of agencies subject to the NPRM.

The NPRM is published in the Federal Register and typically gives 60 days for public comment from any interested party and an additional 30 days for reply comments. Original comments may still be filed in the reply comments window. While that is the normal method of agency rulemaking, emergency rulemaking may bypass the NPRM process. A notice is not required to be published in the Federal Register if all persons subject to it are named and personally served with a copy of it.

Each notice, whether published in the Federal Register or personally served, includes:
 * 1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the proposed rulemaking proceeding;
 * 2) A reference to the authority under which it is issued;
 * 3) A description of the subjects and issues involved or the substance and terms of the proposed regulation;
 * 4) A statement of the time within which written comments must be submitted; and
 * 5) A statement of how and to what extent interested persons may participate in the proceeding.

NPRMs are often preceded by a notice of inquiry (NOI) in which comments are invited but no rules have yet been proposed. Comments received in that period allow the agency to prepare the NPRM better by making more-informed decisions on proposals. An NPRM may be followed by a further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM), if the comments from the initial NPRM lead the agency to change the proposal drastically to the point that further comment is required. Rules are finalized when a report and order (R&O) is issued, which may be amended with a second R&O (or more) in a continuing proceeding (such as the DTV transition).

Regulations.gov is a website established in 2002 to provide better access to rulemaking and allows comments to be posted to nearly 300 federal agencies.

In some circumstances, a federal agency is allowed to finalize a new regulation without first publishing it as a proposed rule in the Federal Register. The agency must disclose its reason when publishing the final rule.

Foreign equivalents
Equivalent procedures of public consultation are also used outside the United States for a document giving public notice of a proposed rule change and inviting informed comment on it. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) publishes similar notices referred to a notice of proposed amendment when it seeks public comment.

title: Notice of proposed rulemaking


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NPS

NPS may refer to:

Organizations

 * National Park Service, U.S.
 * National Pension System, India
 * National Pension Service, Korea
 * National Phobics Society, UK charity
 * National Piers Society, UK charity
 * National Poetry Slam, competition
 * National Probation Service, a statutory criminal justice service for England and Wales
 * Nederlandse Programma Stichting, a Dutch broadcasting foundation now part of Omroep NTR
 * Nigerian Prisons Services
 * NPS MedicineWise, known prior to 2009 as the National Prescribing Service, a medical information provider in Australia
 * Nunavik Police Service in Quebec, Canada

Science, medicine and pharmaceutics

 * Nail–patella syndrome, an autosomal dominant genetic disorder
 * Neuropeptide S, a neuropeptide found in human and mammalian brain
 * Novel psychoactive substance or new psychoactive substance (often used interchangeably)
 * Nonpoint source pollution
 * NPS Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Shire in 2015

Technology

 * Network Policy Server, component of Microsoft Server 2008

Pipes and pipe threads

 * National pipe straight, a non-taper pipe thread among the national pipe thread standards
 * Nominal Pipe Size, a North American set of standard sizes for pipes

Politics

 * National Party of Scotland, 1928–1934
 * National Party of Suriname
 * New Socialist Party (France) (French: Nouveau parti socialiste)
 * New Socialist Party (San Marino) (Italian: Nuovo Partito Socialista)
 * People's Movement of Serbia (Serbian: Narodni pokret Srbije), a political party in Serbia

Education

 * National Public School, Indiranagar, Bangalore, India
 * Naval Postgraduate School, California, US

Literature

 * New Penguin Shakespeare, a series of the works of Shakespeare published by Penguin Books

Business

 * Net promoter score, in customer relations

title: NPS


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Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy Valeryevich Jirov (Васи́лий Вале́рьевич Жи́ров; born 4 April 1974), sometimes known as Vasily Zhirov, is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2009, and held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1999 to 2003. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, as well as consecutive bronzes at the 1993 and 1995 World Championships, all in the light heavyweight division.

Amateur career
Jirov took up boxing in 1986 when he was 12, studying at the Balkhash Technical School. His first coach was Alexander Apachinsky (Merited Trainer of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Master of Sports of the USSR). Jirov later recalled that: "I came to boxing after seeing the movie "Rocky", I was eager to be like Rocky. The first time in the ring was painful, I welcomed punches, there were bruises. I said that I will go through it, after all it's not so painful, not so sad, it could make life better. My first coach Alexander Ivanovich Apachinsky wanted me to grow up not just a boxer, but to grow up a man. He helped me doing that. He was a tough man, but if you look at life, at that energy of life, its pressure would simply eat you up. He taught me to go all the way, no matter what."

From 1989 to 1991, he became the champion of the Kazakh SSR three times in a row. In 1990 he became the champion of the All-Union Spartakiad of Young Students (4 fights, 4 victories, Moscow,) and also won the USSR Youth Championship (4 fights, 4 victories, Donetsk,) received a degree of Master of Sports of the USSR in boxing.

In 1991, Jirov, who was yet at the junior age class, didn't win the USSR Championship in Saratov (4 fights, 3 wins, 2nd place,) however he received an invitation to the USSR youth team.

In 1994, Vassiliy moved to the light heavyweight division (up to 81 kg.)

In December 1996, Jirov travelled to the United States, where he signed a contract with boxing promoter Bob Arum and began his career as a professional boxer.

Highlights
International Junior Tournament (Middleweight), Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, December 1991: European Junior Championships (Middleweight), Edinburgh, Scotland, April 1992: World Championships (Middleweight), Tampere, Finland, May 1993: World Cup (Light heavyweight), Bangkok, Thailand, June 1994: Asian Games (Light heavyweight), Hiroshima, Japan, October 1994: Chemistry Cup (Light heavyweight), Halle, Germany, March 1995: Sweden Open (Light heavyweight), Stockholm, Sweden, 1996:
 * (no data available)
 * 1/4: Defeated Thomas Hansvold (Norway) RSC 2
 * 1/2: Defeated Rickard Eckvall (Sweden) 12–6
 * Finals: Defeated Sinan Şamil Sam (Turkey) 11–7
 * 1/8: Defeated Francesco Passanante (Switzerland) RSC 3
 * 1/4: Defeated Andrey Khamula (Ukraine) 15–9
 * 1/2: Lost to Akin Kuloglu (Turkey) 2–9
 * 1/8: Defeated Haik Postolokyan (Armenia) 11–3
 * 1/4: Lost to Islam Arsangaliev (Russia) 4–12
 * 1/4: Defeated Asghar Ali (Pakistan) RSC
 * 1/2: Lost to Young-Sam Ko (South Korea) 10–17
 * 1/4: Defeated Sven Ottke (Germany) PTS
 * 1/2: Defeated Thomas Ulrich (Germany) by walkover
 * Finals: Defeated Ulf Brezina (Germany) RET 1
 * Finals: Defeated Stephen Kirk (Ireland) RSC 2

Korean Open (Light heavyweight), Seoul, South Korea, 1995: World Championships (Light heavyweight), Berlin, Germany, May 1995: Asian Championships (Light heavyweight), Tashkent, Uzbekistan, October 1995: Moscow Open (Light heavyweight), Moscow, Russia, October 1995: Chemistry Cup (Light heavyweight), Halle, Germany, February–March 1996: Summer Olympics (Light heavyweight), Atlanta, Georgia, July–August 1996:
 * (no data available)
 * 1/8: Defeated Ervins Helmanis (Latvia) KO 2
 * 1/4: Defeated Ismael Kone (Sweden) RSC 1
 * 1/2: Lost to Antonio Tarver (United States) 6–9
 * 1/4: Defeated Vitaliy Ilyushin (Turkmenistan) RET 2
 * 1/2: Defeated Ayoub Pourtaghi Ghoushchi (Iran) 10–1
 * Finals: Defeated Lee Seung-bae (South Korea) 15–2
 * Finals: Defeated Timur Ibragimov (Uzbekistan) by unanimous decision, 5–0
 * 1/4: Defeated Rostyslav Zaulychnyi (Ukraine) 12–1
 * 1/2: Defeated Ramón Garbey (Cuba) 18–10
 * Finals: Defeated Thomas Ulrich (Germany) by walkover
 * 1/16: Defeated Julio César González (Mexico) RSC 2
 * 1/8: Defeated Pietro Aurino (Italy) 18–3
 * 1/4: Defeated Troy Amos-Ross (Canada) 14–8
 * 1/2: Defeated Antonio Tarver (United States) 15–9
 * Finals: Defeated Lee Seung-Bae (South Korea) 17–4

Jirov was awarded the Val Barker Trophy for outstanding performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He finished his amateur career having 217 fights under his belt, with a record of 207 wins, 10 losses (no stoppages.)

Professional career
Jirov made his debut as a professional on 18 January 1997, with a two-round knockout of Vince Brown in Las Vegas. He won eleven fights that first year, all by knockout, including wins over Exum Speight and Art Jimmerson. In 1998, he won eight fights, six before the final bell. On 5 May he won the WBC's regional cruiserweight title with a 12-round decision over Rich La Montaigne, who became the first boxer to last the full distance against Jirov. On 5 December he once again fought in Ukrainian territory. In his first fight as a professional in Ukraine, he beat Alexander Vasiliev in Kyiv by decision in eight rounds.

IBF cruiserweight champion
In 1999, Jirov was given his first world title try: In front of an HBO Boxing audience, he beat IBF world Cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams by a knockout in seven rounds at Biloxi, Mississippi, to become that organization's world cruiserweight champion.

For his first defense, he fought at the main supportive event at the Felix Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya undercard on 18 September, retaining the crown with a ten-round knockout of Canadian Dale Brown.

In 2000, he beat Saul Montana by knockout in round nine to retain the world title on an Univision televised fight, and won two non-title bouts, including one over Esteban Pizarro at the Playboy mansion.

On 6 February 2001, Jirov went to Kazakhstan to defend his crown in his home-country for the first time. There, he retained the title with a first-round knockout of Álex González. He won three more fights that year, one a world title affair against Julian Letterlough (knockout win in 8).

There were reports that Jirov's team and HBO were trying to negotiate a matchup against Roy Jones Jr., but those talks fell through.

In 2002 Jirov, then managed by the Sugar Ray Leonard promotion company, defended his crown once that year, beating former world Middleweight champion Jorge Castro of Argentina by a 12-round decision on 1 February at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix. Talks had begun about a fight of his against former multiple division world champion James Toney. However, negotiations took long and Jirov spent more than one year outside the ring, time in which the IBF threatened to take away recognition of Jirov as world champion if he did not defend his crown soon. As a result of these managerial problems, Jirov also moved from the SAR club gym, favored by his management, to Joe Diaz's Gym, near Downtown Phoenix.

Losing the title to Toney
Jirov and Toney finally met on 26 April 2003, and Jirov suffered his first career defeat, when he lost the IBF cruiserweight title to Toney by a 12-round unanimous decision. On 9 August Jirov came back, beating fringe contender Ernest Mateen by knockout in seven rounds.

On 6 November 2003 he won the NABO regional cruiserweight title with a six-round knockout of Joseph Kiwanuka in Phoenix. Jirov's next fight was against ex-heavyweight champion, Michael Moorer. Jirov was beaten by Moorer via TKO in the ninth round. Over the next six months, Jirov defeated Forrest Neal by knockout in round 3 and defeated Troy Beats by unanimous decision. His next fight was against former heavyweight and cruiserweight contender Orlin Norris. Jirov and Norris fought to a draw.

In his first return bout to the cruiserweight division (April 20, 2006) he defeated Luke Munsen in a unanimous decision. On 14 July 2007 Jirov defeated Kenny 'The Raven' Craven by TKO in second round of 10 round scheduled bout.

As a heavyweight, Jirov also lost to Joe Mesi by unanimous decision, after throwing a blow to Mesi that resulted in subdural bleeding near the fight's end. It also marked the downturn in Jirov's fighting career, and after a few more fights, he retired in 2009.

Post-fight career in boxing
Jirov lives in Arizona and works at the Scottsdale Boxing Club as a coach. Reflecting on his time as a fighter, Jirov said: “I travelled the world, got paid and kicked some ass.”

title: Vassiliy Jirov


text:
Duane Allman

Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock and blues guitarist and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Allman began playing the guitar at age 14. He formed the Allman Brothers Band with his brother Gregg in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. The group achieved its greatest success in the early 1970s. Allman is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in the band and in particular for his expressive slide guitar playing and inventive improvisational skills. A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Duane Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Wilson Pickett, and Boz Scaggs. He also contributed greatly to the only studio album by Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970).

Allman died following a motorcycle crash on October 29, 1971, at the age of 24.

In 2003, he was ranked number 2 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix. In 2011, he was ranked number 9 and in 2023 he was ranked 10th. His guitar tone (achieved with a Gibson Les Paul and two 50-watt bass Marshall amplifiers) was named one of the greatest of all time by Guitar Player.

Early years
Duane Allman was born on November 20, 1946, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the elder son of Willis Allman (1918–1949) who, at the time of his death, was a second lieutenant on active duty in the United States Army, having served as an Army non-commissioned officer during World War II; and Geraldine Allman (née Robbins) (1917–2015). His brother, Gregg, was born on December 8, 1947.

On December 26, 1949, when the family was living near Norfolk, Virginia, where he was stationed, Willis Allman was murdered. So that she could retrain as an accountant, Geraldine "Mama A" Allman sent Duane and Gregg to Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, which they both disliked intensely. In 1957, the family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, where the boys attended Seabreeze High School.

The boys returned to Nashville to spend summers with their grandmother, and there Gregg learned guitar basics from a neighbor. In 1960, he had saved enough money to buy his first guitar, a Japanese-made Teisco Silvertone, while Duane acquired a Harley 165 motorbike. Despite Duane being left-handed, he played the guitar right-handed. Duane began to take an interest in the guitar, and the boys would sometimes fight over it, until Duane wrecked the motorbike and traded it for a Silvertone of his own. His mother eventually bought Duane a Gibson Les Paul Junior.

It was also in Nashville that the boys became musically inspired by a rhythm-and-blues concert where they saw blues guitarist B.B. King perform. Duane told Gregg, "We got to get into this." Duane learned to play very quickly and soon became the better guitarist of the two.

1961–1968: Allman Joys and Hour Glass
The brothers started playing publicly in 1961, joining or forming a number of local groups. Around this time, Duane left school to focus on his guitar playing. His early band "The Escorts" opened for the Beach Boys in 1965 but disbanded, some of its members eventually forming the Allman Joys. After Gregg graduated from Seabreeze High School in 1965, the Allman Joys went on the road, performing throughout the Southeast, and eventually were based in Nashville. The Allman Joys became Hour Glass and moved to Los Angeles in early 1967. There Hour Glass recorded two albums for Liberty Records, but the band was unsatisfied. Liberty tried to market them as a pop band, ignoring the band's desire to play more blues-oriented material. Hour Glass broke up in early 1968. Duane and Gregg went back to Florida, where they played on demo sessions with the 31st of February, a folk rock outfit whose drummer was Butch Trucks. Gregg returned to California to fulfill Hour Glass obligations, while Duane jammed around Florida for months but did not get another band going.

Duane began to learn to play slide guitar on his birthday in 1968. He was recovering from an injury to his left elbow, suffered in a fall from a horse. Gregg brought him a birthday present, the debut album by Taj Mahal, and a bottle of Coricidin pills. He left them on the front porch and rang the bell, as Duane was angry with him about the injury. "About two hours after I left, my phone rang," Gregg recalled. "'Baby brother, baby brother, get over here now!'" Duane had poured the pills out of the Coricidin bottle, washed off the label and was using it as a slide to play along with the album track "Statesboro Blues" (on the recording, the slide guitar is played by Jesse Ed Davis). "Duane had never played slide before," Gregg later said, but "he just picked it up and started burnin'. He was a natural." The song became a part of the Allman Brothers Band's repertoire, and Duane's slide guitar became crucial to their sound. Because of his use of the early-1970s-era Coricidin medicine bottle, which is no longer manufactured, replica Coricidin bottles are now popular with slide guitar players who like its glassy feel and sound.

1966–1969: Session musician
Allman's first major recording session occurred in early 1966 at Nashville's RCA Studio "B", two years before his famed tenure at Muscle Shoals' FAME Studios. Producer Tony Moon was recording The Vogues' first album after his successful "5"O'Clock World" had reached the Top 5, and had been recorded in that same studio. He hired Allman to play on several sides, as he wanted a more rock sound. At the time, The Allman Joys were the house band at The Briar Patch in Nashville. Allman's playing on the two Hour Glass albums and an Hour Glass session in early 1968 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, caught the ear of Rick Hall, owner of FAME. In November 1968 Hall bought Allman's contract for $10,000. Allman, tired of the studio limitation, was able to play on his first album as a sessions ace with Wilson Pickett. Allman's work on that album, Hey Jude (1968), got him hired as a full-time session musician at Muscle Shoals and brought him to the attention of other musicians, notably Eric Clapton, who later said, "I remember hearing Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude' and just being astounded by the lead break at the end. I had to know who that was immediately—right now."

Allman's performance on "Hey Jude" impressed Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry Wexler when Hall played it over the phone for him. Wexler immediately bought Allman's recording contract from Hall and wanted to use him on sessions with Atlantic R&B artists. While at Muscle Shoals, Allman played on recordings by numerous artists, including Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Laura Nyro, Wilson Pickett, Otis Rush, Percy Sledge, Johnny Jenkins, Boz Scaggs, Delaney & Bonnie, Doris Duke and jazz flautist Herbie Mann. For his first sessions with Franklin, Allman traveled to New York where, in January 1969, he went as an audience member to the Fillmore East to see Johnny Winter and told Muscle Shoals guitarist Jimmy Johnson that in a year he'd be on that stage. That December, the Allman Brothers Band indeed played the Fillmore. Coincidentally, the Fillmore East performances recorded for the Allman Brothers album At Fillmore East in March 1971—often considered the high water mark for the band—were on the same bill as Johnny Winter.

1968: Formation of the Allman Brothers Band
When asked how the band came together Duane stated: "Very slowly. I was in Muscle Shoals and I went down to Jacksonville and was jamming with Berry and Dickey. Jaimoe came with me from Muscle Shoals, he's originally from Macon. Gregg was in California and Butch was in Jacksonville where we all got together and jammed for a couple of months putting together songs and stuff. We just needed a singer and Gregg was the guy. Two weeks after Gregg got back from California we went up to New York and recorded there. We played live gigs before our first album was released in November [of 1969]."

While visiting St. Louis, Allman met Donna Roosman, who bore his second child, Galadrielle. The couple's relationship soon ended. He had an earlier relationship with Patti Chandlee which resulted in the birth of a daughter who was born deaf.

1969–1971: Success with Layla and At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band went on to become one of the most influential rock groups of the 1970s. George Kimball, writing in Rolling Stone in 1971, described the group as "the best damn rock and roll band this country has produced in the past five years." After months of nonstop rehearsing and gigging without Gregg, including free shows in Central City Park in Macon and Piedmont Park in Atlanta, all they needed was a singer/organist and Duane knew who he wanted. When Gregg got back from California the group settled on the name of the band and was ready to record. Their debut album, The Allman Brothers Band, was recorded in New York in September 1969 and released a few months later. In the midst of intense touring, work began in Macon and Miami (at Atlantic South–Criteria Studios), and a little bit in New York, on the band's second album, Idlewild South. Produced mostly by Tom Dowd, Idlewild South was released in August 1970 and broke new ground for them by getting into the Billboard charts.

After a concert in Miami, in August, watched by Eric Clapton and the other members of Derek and the Dominos, the two bands went back to Criteria studios in Miami, where the Dominoes were recording Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Members of both jammed, after which Allman and Clapton stayed up all night trading and showing one another favorite licks, discovering they had a deep and instinctive rapport. Allman participated in the recording of most of the album's tracks, contributing some of his best-known work. He never left the Allman Brothers Band, though, despite being offered a permanent position with Clapton. Allman never toured with Derek and the Dominos, but he did make at least two appearances with them, on December 1, 1970, at the Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa (Soulmates LP), and on the following day at Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. It is unclear whether he also appeared with them on November 20, 1970, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, in Santa Monica, California, when guitarist Delaney Bramlett performed with the band.

In an interview, Allman told listeners how to tell who played what: Eric played the Fender parts and Duane played the Gibson parts. He continued by nonchalantly noting that the Fender had a sparklier sound, while the Gibson produced more of a "full-tilt screech". Clapton wrote later in his autobiography that he and Allman were inseparable during the sessions in Florida; he talked about Allman as the "musical brother I'd never had but wished I did."

The Allman Brothers went on to record At Fillmore East in March 1971. Meanwhile, Allman continued contributing session work to other artists' albums whenever he could. According to Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, he would spontaneously drop in at recording sessions and contribute to whatever was being taped that day. He received cash payments but no recording credits, making it virtually impossible to compile a complete discography of his works.

Allman was well known for his melodic, extended and attention-holding guitar solos. During this period two of his stated influences were Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He said that he had listened intently to Davis's Kind of Blue for two years.

As Allman's distinctive electric bottleneck sound began to mature, it evolved into the musical voice of what would come to be known as Southern rock, being picked up by other slide guitarists, including his bandmate Dickey Betts (after Allman's death), Derek Trucks, Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Joe Walsh. Duane also taught a young Don Felder to play slide.

Personal life
Allman had a daughter, Galadrielle Allman, with Donna Roosman in 1969. In 2014, Galadrielle Allman published a reflection on her father, mother, family, and the culture of the 1960s, called Please Be with Me: A Song for My Father.

Death
Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash shortly after the release and initial success of At Fillmore East. On October 29, 1971, while the band was on a break from touring and recording, Allman was riding his Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle at high speed on Hillcrest Avenue, in the western part of Macon. As he approached Bartlett Street, a flatbed boom truck stopped suddenly in the intersection, forcing him to swerve sharply. He struck either the back of the truck or the ball on the crane and was thrown from the motorcycle, which landed on top of him and skidded another 90 ft with him pinned underneath it, crushing his internal organs. He was alive when he arrived at a hospital, but despite immediate medical treatment, he died several hours later from massive internal injuries.

Memorial
Allman's funeral service was held on Monday, November 1, 1971, at Snow's Memorial Chapel in Macon, Georgia. In the chapel, packed with family and friends, many of the musicians who had been part of Allman's life were in attendance to mourn his death. Record producer Jerry Wexler gave the eulogy. Wexler praised Allman's musical achievements; his uncompromising dedication to Southern gospel, country, and blues music; and the place he attained alongside the great black musicians and blues singers from the South. The band, joined by others, played several tunes, concluding with a group rendition of the Southern spiritual "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", a band favorite.

Legacy
After Allman's funeral and some weeks of mourning, the five surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band carried on, resuming live performances and finishing the recording work interrupted by Allman's death. They named their next album Eat a Peach for Allman's response to an interviewer's question: "How are you helping the revolution?" Allman replied, "I'm hitting a lick for peace, and every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace. But you can't help the revolution, because there's just evolution. I'm a player. And players don't give a damn for nothing but playing...." Released as a double album in February 1972, it contains a side of live and studio tracks with Allman, two sides of "Mountain Jam", recorded with Allman at the same time as At Fillmore East in March, and a side of tracks by the surviving five members of the band.

Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley died less than 13 months later, also at the age of 24, in a similar motorcycle crash with a city bus, three blocks from the site of Allman's fatal accident. Oakley was buried beside Allman in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia.

The variety of Allman's session work and Allman Brothers Band bandleading can be heard to good effect on two posthumous Capricorn releases, An Anthology (1972) and An Anthology Volume II (1974). There are also several archival releases of live Allman Brothers Band performances from what the band calls "Duane's era".

Shortly after Allman's death, Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd dedicated the song "Free Bird" to Allman's memory. Van Zant would sometimes allude to this in concert; in the band's 1976 performance of "Free Bird" in Knebworth, England, Van Zant said to pianist Billy Powell, "Play it for Duane Allman." The song was written well before Allman died and was not written with him in mind. (Allen Collins wrote the song after his then girlfriend asked him the question "if I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?")

In 1973, four boys who were Hinds Junior College students living in Vicksburg, Mississippi carved the very large letters "REMEMBER DUANE ALLMAN" into a vertical excavation face beside Interstate Highway 20 between Vicksburg and the school's campus in Raymond on the route they travelled together while commuting between their homes and campus. A photograph was published in Rolling Stone magazine and in the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll; the carving lasted for over 10 years.

In 1998, the Georgia State Legislature passed a resolution designating a stretch of State Highway 19, U.S. Route 41, within Macon, as Duane Allman Boulevard in his honor. The route, which passes near The Allman Brothers Band Museum (at "The Big House", where the band once lived) and the H&H Restaurant, where the band members often dined, crosses the Raymond Berry Oakley III Bridge.

Country singer Travis Tritt, in the song "Put Some Drive in Your Country" on his debut album, sings "Now I still love old country / I ain't tryin' to put it down / But damn I miss Duane Allman / I wish he was still around."

Skydog, a seven-CD box set tracing the virtuosity of Allman on the guitar, was released in 2013 with the help of his daughter, Galadrielle Allman. A March 16 interview with her on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday by Scott Simon runs over eight minutes, includes many details, and is highlighted with clips of his playing, including links to an audio file prepared for the broadcast.

Duane Allman was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of the Allman Brothers Band.

Equipment

 * Allman Joys, Hour Glass
 * Fender Telecaster, modified with a Stratocaster neck
 * Marshall amplifier, with six 10-inch speakers and two horns

 * Early session work
 * 1954 Fender Stratocaster, used on the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio sessions, now at the Hard Rock Cafe in London at the Vault
 * Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, with old 9-volt batteries for enhanced distortion
 * Fender Twin Reverb with JBL speakers
 * Maestro Echoplex
 * 1959 Fender Bassman

 * Allman Brothers Band, Layla, later session work
 * 1961 Fender Stratocaster (for early session work, overlapping with the formation of the Allman Brothers Band)
 * 1958–1962 Gibson ES-345 semi-hollow body (first album)
 * 1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard goldtop, serial no. 7 3312, traded on September 16, 1970, for a:
 * 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst, except for the pickups
 * 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard tobacco sunburst, acquired in June 1971
 * 1961 Gibson SG, used for slide, given by Dickey Betts
 * Marshall 50-watt head, two Marshall 4x12 cabinets with JBL speakers
 * Fender Champ combo amplifier (Layla)

 * Other
 * Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar
 * Fender Rock N' Roll 150 strings (Hour Glass)
 * Coricidin medicine bottle (slide)

Discography

 * The Allman Brothers Band

 * The Allman Brothers Band (1969)
 * Idlewild South (1970)
 * At Fillmore East (1971)
 * Eat a Peach (1972) on tracks 4–9

 * Derek & the Dominos
 * Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) on tracks 4–14

title: Duane Allman


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User:Montrealais/Images-Full

Full size versions of my photos

Churches

Other buildings and places

Ottawa-Gatineau
View of Gatineau, with Museum of Civilization

Sagrada Familia

Queer stuff

Miscellaneous
thumb|Canadian coins

title: User:Montrealais/Images-Full


text:
Generic drug

A generic drug (or simply generic) is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active chemical substance is the same, the medical profile of generics is equivalent in performance compared to their performance at the time when they were patented drugs. A generic drug has the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) as the original, but it may differ in some characteristics such as the manufacturing process, formulation, excipients, color, taste, and packaging.

Although they may not be associated with a particular company, generic drugs are usually subject to government regulations in the countries in which they are dispensed. They are labeled with the name of the manufacturer and a generic non-proprietary name such as the United States Adopted Name (USAN) or International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of the drug. A generic drug must contain the same active ingredients as the original brand-name formulation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires generics to be identical to or within an acceptable bioequivalent range of their brand-name counterparts, with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. (The FDA's use of the word "identical" is a legal interpretation, not literal.)

Biopharmaceuticals, such as monoclonal antibodies, differ biologically from small-molecule drugs. Biosimilars have active pharmaceutical ingredients that are almost identical to the original product and are typically regulated under an extended set of rules, but they are not the same as generic drugs as the active ingredients are not the same as those of their reference products.

In most cases, generic products become available after the patent protections afforded to the drug's original developer expire. Once generic drugs enter the market, competition often leads to substantially lower prices for both the original brand-name product and its generic equivalents. In most countries, patents give 20 years of protection. However, many countries and regions, such as the European Union and the United States, may grant up to five years of additional protection ("patent term restoration") if manufacturers meet specific goals, such as conducting clinical trials for pediatric patients.

Manufacturers, wholesalers, insurers, and drugstores can all increase prices at various stages of production and distribution.

In 2014, according to an analysis by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, generic drugs accounted for 88 percent of the 4.3 billion prescriptions filled in the United States.

"Branded generics" on the other hand are defined by the FDA and National Health Service as "products that are (a) either novel dosage forms of off-patent products produced by a manufacturer that is not the originator of the molecule, or (b) a molecule copy of an off-patent product with a trade name." Since the company making branded generics can spend little on research and development, it is able to spend on marketing alone, thus earning higher profits and driving costs down. For example, the largest revenues of Ranbaxy, now owned by Sun Pharma, came from branded generics.

Nomenclature
Generic drug names are constructed using standardized affixes that distinguish drugs between and within classes and suggest their action.

Economics
When a pharmaceutical company first markets a drug, it is usually under a patent that, until it expires, the company can use to exclude competitors by suing them for patent infringement. Pharmaceutical companies that develop new drugs generally only invest in drug candidates with strong patent protection as a strategy to recoup their costs of drug development (including the costs of the drug candidates that fail) and to make a profit. The average cost to a brand-name company of discovering, testing, and obtaining regulatory approval for a new drug, with a new chemical entity, was estimated to be as much as US$800 million in 2003 and US$2.6 billion in 2014. Drug companies that bring new products have several product line extension strategies they use to extend their exclusivity, some of which are seen as gaming the system and labeled "evergreening" by critics, but at some point there is no patent protection available. For as long as a drug patent lasts, a brand-name company enjoys a period of market exclusivity, or monopoly, in which the company is able to set the price of the drug at a level that maximizes profit. This profit often greatly exceeds the development and production costs of the drug, allowing the company to offset the cost of research and development of other drugs that are not profitable or do not pass clinical trials. The impact of loss of patent exclusivity on pharmaceutical products varies significantly across different product classes (e.g., biologics vs. small molecules), largely due to regulatory, legal and manufacturing hurdles associated with such products. Indeed, the greater degree of 'brand-brand' competitive dynamics seen in the biologics and complex generics space allows manufacturers of originators to better protect market share following loss of patent exclusivity.

Large pharmaceutical companies often spend millions protecting their patents from generic competition. Apart from litigation, they may reformulate a drug or license a subsidiary (or another company) to sell generics under the original patent. Generics sold under license from the patent holder are known as authorized generics.

Generic drugs are usually sold for significantly lower prices than their branded equivalents and at lower profit margins. One reason for this is that competition increases among producers when a drug is no longer protected by patents. Generic companies incur fewer costs in creating generic drugs—only the cost of manufacturing, without the costs of drug discovery and drug development—and are therefore able to maintain profitability at a lower price. The prices are often low enough for users in less-prosperous countries to afford them.

Generic drug companies may also receive the benefit of the previous marketing efforts of the brand-name company, including advertising, presentations by drug representatives, and distribution of free samples. Many drugs introduced by generic manufacturers have already been on the market for a decade or more and may already be well known to patients and providers, although often under their branded name.

India is a leading country in the world's generic drugs market, exporting US$20.0 billion worth of drugs in the 2019–20 (April–March) year. India exports generic drugs to the United States and the European Union. also the according to market research community the Global Generic Drugs Market was evaluated US$465.96 million in 2021 and is expected to rise with a CAGR of 5.5% from 2022- 2028 during the forecast period.

In the United Kingdom, generic drug pricing is controlled by the government's reimbursement rate. The price paid by pharmacists and doctors is determined mainly by the number of license holders, the sales value of the original brand, and the ease of manufacture. A typical price decay graph will show a "scalloped" curve, which usually starts at the brand-name price on the day of generic launch and then falls as competition intensifies. After some years, the graph typically flattens out at approximately 20% of the original brand price. In about 20% of cases, the price "bounces": Some license holders withdraw from the market when the selling price dips below their cost of goods, and the price then rises for a while until the license holders re-enter the market with new stock. The NHS spent about £4.3 billion on generic medicines in 2016–17.

In 2012, 84 percent of prescriptions in the US were filled with generic drugs, and in 2014, the use of generic drugs in the United States led to US$254 billion in health care savings.

In the mid-2010s the generics industry began transitioning to the end of an era of giant patent cliffs in the pharmaceutical industry; patented drugs with sales of around US$28 billion were set to come off patent in 2018, but in 2019 only about US$10 billion in revenue was set to open for competition, and less the next year. Companies in the industry have responded with consolidation or turning to try to generate new drugs.

Most developed nations require generic drug manufacturers to prove that their formulations are bioequivalent to their brand-name counterparts.

Bioequivalence does not mean generic drugs must be exactly the same as the brand-name product ("pharmaceutical equivalent"). Chemical differences may exist; a different salt or ester may be used, for instance. Different inactive ingredients means that the generic may look different from the originator brand. However, the therapeutic effect of the drug must be the same ("pharmaceutical alternative"). Most small molecule drugs are accepted as bioequivalent if their pharmacokinetic parameters of area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) are within a 90% confidence interval of 80–125%; most approved generics in the US are well within this limit. For more complex products—such as inhalers, patch delivery systems, liposomal preparations, or biosimilar drugs—demonstrating pharmacodynamic or clinical equivalence is more challenging.

United States
Enacted in 1984, the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, informally known as the Hatch–Waxman Act, standardized procedures for recognition of generic drugs. In 2007, the FDA launched the Generic Initiative for Value and Efficiency (GIVE): an effort to modernize and streamline the generic drug approval process, and to increase the number and variety of generic products available.

Before a company can market a generic drug, it needs to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the Food and Drug Administration, seeking to demonstrate therapeutic equivalence to a previously approved "reference-listed drug" and proving that it can manufacture the drug safely and consistently. For an ANDA to be approved, the FDA requires that the 90% confidence interval of the geometric mean test/reference ratios for the total drug exposure (represented by the area under the curve or AUC) and the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) should fall within limits of 80–125%. (This range is part of a statistical calculation, and does not mean that generic drugs are allowed to differ from their brand-name counterparts by up to 25 percent.) The FDA evaluated 2,070 studies conducted between 1996 and 2007 that compared the absorption of brand-name and generic drugs into a person's body. The average difference in absorption between the generic and the brand-name drug was 3.5 percent, comparable to the difference between two batches of a brand-name drug. Non-innovator versions of biologic drugs, or biosimilars, require clinical trials for immunogenicity in addition to tests establishing bioequivalency. These products cannot be entirely identical because of batch-to-batch variability and their biological nature, and they are subject to extra rules. When an application is approved, the FDA adds the generic drug to its Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations list and annotates the list to show the equivalence between the reference-listed drug and the generic. The FDA also recognizes drugs that use the same ingredients with different bioavailability and divides them into therapeutic equivalence groups. For example, as of 2006, diltiazem hydrochloride had four equivalence groups, all using the same active ingredient, but considered equivalent only within each group.

In order to start selling a drug promptly after the patent on innovator drug expires, a generic company has to file its ANDA well before the patent expires. This puts the generic company at risk of being sued for patent infringement, since the act of filing the ANDA is considered "constructive infringement" of the patent. In order to incentivize generic companies to take that risk the Hatch-Waxman act granted a 180-day administrative exclusivity period to generic drug manufacturers who are the first to file an ANDA.

When faced with patent litigation from the drug innovator or patent holder, generic companies will often counter-sue, challenging the validity of the patent. Like any litigation between private parties, the innovator and generic companies may choose to settle the litigation. Some of these settlement agreements have been struck down by courts when they took the form of reverse payment patent settlement agreements, in which the generic company basically accepts a payment to drop the litigation, delaying the introduction of the generic product and frustrating the purpose of the Hatch–Waxman Act.

Innovator companies sometimes try to maintain some of the revenue from their drug after patents expire by allowing another company to sell an authorized generic; a 2011 FTC report found that consumers benefitted from lower costs when an authorized generic was introduced during the 180 day exclusivity period, as it created competition.

Innovator companies may also present arguments to the FDA that the ANDA should not be accepted by filing an FDA citizen petition. The right of individuals or organizations to petition the federal government is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. For this reason, the FDA has promulgated regulations that provide, among other things, that at any time, any "interested person" can request that the FDA "issue, amend, or revoke a regulation or order," and set forth a procedure for doing so.

Acceptance
Some generic drugs are viewed with suspicion by doctors. For example, warfarin (Coumadin) has a narrow therapeutic window and requires frequent blood tests to make sure patients do not have a subtherapeutic or a toxic level. A study performed in Ontario showed that replacing Coumadin with generic warfarin was safe, but many physicians are not comfortable with their patients taking branded generic equivalents. In some countries (for example, Australia) where a drug is prescribed under more than one brand name, doctors may choose not to allow pharmacists to substitute a brand different from the one prescribed unless the consumer requests it.

Fraud
A series of scandals around the approval of generic drugs in the late 1980s shook public confidence in generic drugs; there were several instances in which companies obtained bioequivalence data fraudulently, by using the branded drug in their tests instead of their own product, and a congressional investigation found corruption at the FDA, where employees were accepting bribes to approve some generic companies' applications and delaying or denying others.

In 2007, North Carolina Public Radio's The People's Pharmacy began reporting on consumers' complaints that generic versions of bupropion (Wellbutrin) were yielding unexpected effects. Subsequently, Impax Laboratories's 300 mg extended-release tablets, marketed by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, were withdrawn from the US market after the FDA determined in 2012 that they were not bioequivalent.

Problems with the quality of generic drugs – especially those produced outside the United States – are widespread as of 2019. The FDA does infrequent – less than annual – inspections of production sites outside the United States. The FDA normally gives advance notice of inspections, which can lead to cover-ups of problems before inspectors arrive; inspections performed with little or no advance notice have produced evidence of serious problems at a majority of generic drug manufacturing sites in India and China.

Litigation
Two women, each claiming to have suffered severe medical complications from a generic version of metoclopramide, lost their Supreme Court appeal on June 23, 2011. In a 5–4 ruling in PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, the court held that generic companies cannot be held liable for information, or the lack of information, on the originator's label.

India
The Indian government began encouraging more drug manufacturing by Indian companies in the early 1960s, and with the Patents Act in 1970. The Patents Act removed composition patents for foods and drugs, and though it kept process patents, these were shortened to a period of five to seven years. The resulting lack of patent protection created a niche in both the Indian and global markets that Indian companies filled by reverse-engineering new processes for manufacturing low-cost drugs. The code of ethics issued by the Medical Council of India in 2002 calls for physicians to prescribe drugs by their generic names only. India is a leading country in the world's generic drugs market, with Sun Pharmaceuticals being the largest pharmaceutical company in India. Indian generics companies exported US$17.3 billion worth of drugs in the 2017–18 (April–March) year.

In 1945–2017, bioequivalence studies were only required for generics of drugs that are less than four years old. Since 2017, all generic drugs of certain classes, irrespective of age, require bioequivalence to be approved.

China
Generic drug production is a large part of the pharmaceutical industry in China. Western observers have said that China lacks administrative protection for patents. However, entry to the World Trade Organization has brought a stronger patent system. China remains the largest exporter of active pharmaceutical ingredients, accounting for 40% of the world market per an 2017 estimate.

Bioequivalence studies are required for new generic drugs starting from 2016, with older drugs planned as well. In addition, in vitro dissolution behavior is required to match. Since 2018, 44 classes of drugs are exempt from testing (requiring only a dissolution check), and 13 classes only require simplified testing.

Industry
As of 2021, several major companies traditionally dominate the generic drugs market, including Viatris (merger of Mylan and Upjohn), Teva, Novartis' Sandoz, and Sun Pharma. Prices in traditional generic drugs have declined and newer companies such as India-based Sun Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, as well as Canada-based Apotex, have taken market share, which has led to a focus on biosimilars.

title: Generic drug


text:
Bismarck Archipelago

The Bismarck Archipelago (Bismarck-Archipel, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.

History
The first inhabitants of the archipelago arrived around 30,000–40,000 years ago. They may have traveled from New Guinea, by boat across the Bismarck Sea or via a temporary land bridge, created by an uplift in the Earth's crust. Later arrivals included the Lapita people, the direct ancestors of the Austronesian peoples of Polynesia, eastern Micronesia, and Island Melanesia.

The first European to visit these islands was Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616. The islands remained unsettled by western Europeans until they were annexed as part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea in 1884. The area was named in honour of the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

On 13 March 1888, a volcano erupted on Ritter Island causing a megatsunami. Almost the entire volcano fell into the ocean, leaving a small crater lake. Following the outbreak of World War I, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seized the islands in 1914 and Australia later received a League of Nations mandate for the islands. They remained under Australian administration—interrupted only by Japanese occupation during World War II—until Papua New Guinea became independent in September 1975.

Geography
The Bismarck Archipelago includes mostly volcanic islands with a total land area of 49700 km2. The archipelago surrounds the Bismarck Sea and sits upon the North Bismarck Plate, the Manus Plate and the South Bismarck Plate.

Islands are grouped here according to administrative province:

 * Manus Province (see 9 on the map)
 * Admiralty Islands, group of 18 islands including:
 * Manus Island, main island
 * Los Negros Island
 * Lou Island
 * Ndrova Island
 * Tong Island
 * Baluan Island
 * Pak Island
 * Purdy Islands
 * Rambutyo Island
 * St. Andrews Islands
 * Western Islands, with:
 * Aua Island
 * Hermit Islands
 * Kaniet Islands (Anchorite)
 * Sae Island
 * Ninigo Islands
 * Wuvulu Island
 * New Ireland Province (12)
 * New Ireland or also Niu Ailan, main island
 * New Hanover or Lavongai
 * St Matthias Islands
 * Tabar Group
 * Lihir Group
 * Tanga Group
 * Feni Islands
 * Dyaul IslandSun, Sea, Sand And Volcano.jpg, New Britain]]
 * East New Britain Province (4)
 * New Britain or also Niu Briten, main island
 * Duke of York Islands
 * Duke of York Island
 * Kabakon
 * Kerawara
 * Makada
 * Mioko
 * Mualim
 * Ulu
 * West New Britain Province (18)
 * New Britain or also Niu Briten, main island
 * Vitu Islands
 * Morobe Province (11)
 * Umboi Island
 * Tolokiwa Island
 * Sakar Island
 * Ritter Island
 * Malai Island
 * Tuam Island
 * Madang Province (8)
 * Long Island
 * Crown Island
 * Karkar Island
 * Bagabag Island
 * Manam
 * East Sepik Province (5)
 * Schouten Islands

The passage of water between the islands of New Britain and New Ireland is called St. George's Channel after St. George's Channel in the British Isles between Wales and Ireland.

title: Bismarck Archipelago


text:
Air turbine

An air turbine is a turbine driven by airflow. Various forms include:

 * Wind turbine, a renewable energy source
 * Gas turbine, a type of internal combustion engine
 * Ram air turbine (RAT), an emergency power system for aircraft
 * Small air turbines, used as high-speed pneumatic motors in tools such as dentist's drills

title: Air turbine


text:
Eelde

Eelde is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 9 km south of Groningen. Groningen Airport Eelde is located near the village.

Eelde was a separate municipality until 1998, when it was merged with Vries and Zuidlaren.

During the 20th century, the villages of Eelde and Paterswolde have merged into one, "Eelde-Paterswolde". In 2012, Eelde counted 6,660 inhabitants, and Paterswolde 3,680, together 10,340 inhabitants.

Its major attractions are Groningen Airport Eelde, museum "De Buitenplaats", the annual flower parade and the lake "Paterswoldse meer".

title: Eelde


text:
Humphrey de Bohun

Humphrey de Bohun (pronounced "Boon" in Scottish English or Bo-hun or Bow-hun in French) may refer to:
 * Humphrey with the Beard (fl. 1066), fought at the Battle of Hastings
 * Humphrey I de Bohun (died c.1123), married Maud, daughter of Edward of Salisbury
 * Humphrey II de Bohun (died 1164/5), married Margaret, daughter of Miles of Gloucester
 * Humphrey III de Bohun (died 1181), married Margaret of Huntingdon
 * Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford (Humphrey IV, c. 1204–1275), also 1st Earl of Essex and Constable of England
 * Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford (Humphrey VI, c. 1249–c. 1298), also 2nd Earl of Essex, a key figure in the Norman conquest of Wales
 * Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (Humphrey VII, 1276–1321/2), one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses
 * Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford (Humphrey VIII, 1309–1361), also 5th Earl of Essex and Lord High Constable of England
 * Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (Humphrey IX, 1342–1373), also 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton, an English noble during the reign of King Edward III

title: Humphrey de Bohun