Second, the governing board of directors was established with representatives from all affected constituencies: consumers, providers, employers, regulators, and industry experts. URAC is one of the fastest growing health care accreditation agencies in the world. It will continue to develop new standards for the health care system and revise existing ones to promote national standards and to ensure that all stakeholders, including consumers and providers, are protected.
pollen-the fine spores that contain male gametes and that are borne by an anther in a flowering plant. microspore-smaller of the two types of spore produced in heterosporous plants; develops in the pollen sac into a male gametophyte.
Spore, a reproductive cell capable of developing into a new individual without fusion with another reproductive cell. Spores thus differ from gametes, which are reproductive cells that must fuse in pairs in order to give rise to a new individual. Spores are agents of asexual reproduction, whereas gametes are agents of sexual reproduction. Spores are produced by bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants. Bacterial spores serve largely as a resting, or dormant, stage in the bacterial life cycle, helping to preserve the bacterium through periods of unfavourable conditions.