Inventors:
Tony L. Buhr - King George VA, US
Claire M. Wells - Alexandria VA, US
Alice A. Young - Fredericksburg VA, US
John R. Crigler - Fredericksburg VA, US
Assignee:
United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Arlington VA
International Classification:
C12Q 1/22
G06F 19/24
Abstract:
A protocol process is provided for testing and evaluating spores. The process includes isolating a sample of the spores, providing an environmental matrix of exposure condition elements, determining a midpoint for each control range between the low and high extremities, selecting condition elements from the matrix, with each condition element corresponding to a first condition, subjecting the sample to the condition elements from the matrix, counting survival spores for each condition element, performing a response surface methodology (RSM) analysis from the survival spores, and determining coefficients that satisfy a relation for k conditions. The matrix has control ranges of temperature, relative humidity and exposure duration, the control ranges extending from a low extremity to a high extremity. The first condition is one of the low and high range extremities and remaining conditions occupying the midpoint for a corresponding control range. All condition elements are uniquely distinguishable. The relation can be expressed as:The proportion response p(x) of inactivated spores quantifies long odds spore inactivation, xrepresents a set of independent variables, βdenotes a correlation coefficient from j=0, 1, . . . k, and b represents a correlation blocking term.
