credit risk. Probability of loss from a debtor's default. In banking, credit risk is a major factor in determination of interest rate on a loan: longer the term of loan, usually higher the interest rate. Also called credit exposure.
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. An endospore is a dormant, tough, non-reproductive structure produced by a small number of bacteria from the Firmicute family. The primary function of most endospores is to ensure the survival of a bacterium through periods of environmental stress. They are therefore resistant to ultraviolet and gamma radiation, desiccation, lysozyme, temperature, starvation, and chemical disinfectants.
Bacterial endospores are resistant to antibiotics, most disinfectants, and physical agents such as radiation, boiling, and drying. 1  The impermeability of the spore coat is thought to be responsible for the endospore's resistance to chemicals. The heat resistance of endospores is due to a variety of factors: 1  Calcium dipicolinate, abundant within the endospore, may stabilize and protect the endospore's DNA. 2  Small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs) saturate the endospore's DNA and protect it from heat, drying, chemicals, and radiation.