Standby Agreement. An agreement between the issuer of a security and its underwriters stating that the underwriters are responsible for any unsold portion of the issue. That is, the underwriters agree to buy the remainder of a new issue if they are unable to place its entirety with investors.
A sponge has water flow in through the pores. The water contains the food and oxygen the sponge needs. Respiration. A sponge takes in water through its pores and in more advanced forms, with canals that move the water to all throughout the sponge.
Sponges have a unique feeding system among animals. Instead of a mouths they have tiny pores (ostia) in their outer walls through which water is drawn. Cells in the sponge walls filter food from the water as the water is pumped through the body and the osculum (little mouth). The flow of water through the sponge is in one direction only, driven by the beating of flagella which line the surface of chambers connected by a series of canals.