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.
The process of creating an endospore involves a unique kind of cell division. The mother cell replicates its DNA and undergoes cytokinesis, but one of the daughter cells is much smaller than the other. The larger daughter cell then envelops the smaller daughter cell, which becomes a forespore within the larger cell.