Abstract
PROF. FREMLIN'S criticism is based primarily on the inability of the equation, Y = exp (−kt−c), to describe adequately natural processes that do not have apparent sigmoidal time-course curves. Of the three hypothetical situations presented, I agree that the first would describe a typical sigmoid curve which can be generated by the basic equation. The time-course of the type of process outlined in the second case would resemble a frequency distribution function, a curve which is generated by the first derivative of the equation1. My colleagues and I have suggested that the equation may represent a new type of distribution function2. The similarities between the parameters of the equation and those of the Weibull distribution function3 have been noted4.
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References
McCormick, N. G., J. Bact., 89, 1180 (1965).
Vary, J. C., and McCormick, N. G., Spores, 3, 188 (Amer. Soc. Microbiol., 1965).
Weibull, W., J. App. Mech., 18, 293 (1951).
Vary, J. C., and Halvorson, H. O., J. Bact., 89, 1340 (1965).
McCormick, N. G., Nature, 208, 334 (1965).
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MCCORMICK, N. Nature's Time-scale. Nature 211, 1108 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2111108a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2111108a0
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