Clerical-Collar Crime: How Church Members Deal When Church Leaders Steal Church Property

Christian churches will lose an estimated $59 billion worldwide to embezzlement in 2022. Embezzlement and other white-collar crimes are property theft crimes characterized by the violation of another’s trust. This Comment names white-collar crimes committed exclusively by church leaders or officials “clerical-collar crimes.” Distinguishing clerical-collar crime from white-collar crime gives weight to and promotes future consideration of the unique problems that arise when church leaders and officials commit clerical-collar crime.Although clerical-collar crime is subject to civil and criminal liability, this Comment focuses solely on victims’ experiences in bringing civil claims against perpetrators of clerical-collar crime in Texas and leaves clerical-collar crime prosecution and punishment to future study. This Comment begins by examining three reasons why churches are uniquely vulnerable to clerical-collar crime. Then, this Comment describes three civil claims church members can bring against perpetrators of clerical-collar crime, two challenges church members face in bringing those claims in Texas, and the difficulty of recovering stolen property due to the judgment-proof problem. This Comment concludes by making several recommendations to protect churches from clerical-collar crime and mitigate victims’ losses

Child nutrition program practices and self-efficacy of menu planners associated with meals for children with food allergy in California schools

Child Nutrition Programs in schools in the United States provide healthy, safe, affordable meals for a diverse population of children every school day. The USDA requires the menu for children with food allergies to be modified with no additional meal reimbursement. Food allergies affect up to 8% of children in the U.S.; eight allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat) account for over 90% of allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. The purpose of the study was to assess self-efficacy of child nutrition program menu planners in California schools who design and implement menus for children with food allergies. Also identified were menu planning protocols used in the accommodation process, self-reported menu modification frequency, and cost perceptions to produce meals modified for children with food allergies. A two phase data collection included an electronic Delphi panel (n=16) and general survey (n=212) to menu planners for children with food allergies at California public schools. Based on food and labor costs, results indicated child nutrition program menu planners perceived modified meals cost more than non-modified meals planned to accommodate children with wheat, soy, milk products, and multiple allergens. This study estimated that 0.96% of lunch meals served in California were modified to eliminate food allergens. Ready availability and ease of sourcing substitute foods reduced perceptions of negative labor impacts on operations. Self-efficacy was measured using factors of perceived skill, perceived knowledge, frequency of training, perceived cost of menu modifications, district enrollment, years of work experience in child nutrition programs, education level, sex, and age of respondent, in providing meal accommodations for students with food allergies. Knowledge was the sole predictor of self-efficacy for menu planners of allergen modified menus for children. Findings from this study regarding perceived cost of accommodations and benchmarks of frequency of accommodations for children with specific food allergies can be utilized to calculate impact of additional food and labor costs. Child nutrition program menu planners were found to have high self-efficacy in planning modified meals; knowledge and adequate funding are keys to success

Synthesizing New Molecules for an Antifungal Drug

Methionine Synthase (MetSyn) is an essential enzyme for all organisms. Taking advantage of key differences between fungal MetSyn and mammalian MetSyn, an antifungal drug could be developed to exclusively inactivate the fungal cell while leaving the host (patient) unaffected. To develop an inhibitor of fungal MetSyn we have begun the synthesis on two molecules which mimic folate, a necessary compound for MetSyn to function

A ‘’oportunidade fantasma’’: fechando a lacuna entre ideias e investidores de capital

Kirznerian entrepreneurs are described as alert individuals apt to identify opportunities through subjective inferences based on industry competition, price inequality, and interaction with other market actors. They are poised to identify and exploit opportunities that may not currently exist. We extend this notion of alertness towards the unknown by introducing the “phantom opportunity” concept, extending prior research. Although entrepreneurs may initially perceive a new venture idea, it cannot manifest itself as opportunity until other parties legitimize it by mutually perceiving it as such, thus committing resources. For example, investors may mentally simulate, contributively co-create or modify a proposed opportunity before committing the necessary funding to launch the entrepreneur’s perceived idea. This paper extends Kirzner’s view of perception and opportunity as related to the modern entrepreneurs’ struggle to define, legitimize and realize an opportunity.Los empresarios kirznerianos se describen como un individuo alerta apto para identificar oportunidades a través de inferencias subjetivas con base en la competencia de la industria, la desigualdad de precios y la interacción con otros actores del mercado. Están preparados para identificar y explotar oportunidades quepueden no existir actualmente. Extendemos esta noción de alerta hacia lo desconocido mediante la introducción del concepto de “oportunidad fantasma”, ampliando la investigación previa. Aunque los empresarios pueden percibir inicialmente una nueva idea de empresa, no puede manifestarse en una oportunidad hasta que otras partes la legitimen al percibirla como tal, comprometiendo recursos. Por ejemplo, los inversores pueden simular mentalmente, cocrear o modificar de manera colaborativa una oportunidad propuesta antes de comprometer la financiación necesaria para lanzar la idea percibida del emprendedor. Este documento amplía la visión de Kirzner de la percepción y la oportunidad en relación con la lucha de los empresarios modernos para definir, legitimar y aprovechar una oportunidad.Os empreendedores kirznerianos são descritos como indivíduos em “estado de alerta”, capazes de identificar oportunidades por meio de inferências subjetivas baseadas na concorrência industrial, diferença de preços e interação com outros agentes de mercado. Eles estão preparados para identificar e explorar oportunidades que podem não existir no momento. Ampliamos essa noção de “estado de alerta” para comodesconhecido, ao introduzir o conceito de “oportunidade fantasma” às pesquisas anteriores. Embora os empreendedores inicialmente possam perceber uma nova oportunidade de investimento, ela não pode se manifestar como oportunidade até que as outras partes mutuamente assim a legitimem, alocando recursos. Por exemplo, investidores podem simular mentalmente, criar conjuntamente ou modificar uma oportunidade potencial antes de destinar o financiamento necessário para lançar a ideia percebida pelo empreendedor. Esse artigo amplia a visão de percepção e oportunidade de Kirzner, relacionando-a ao esforço do empreendedor moderno para definir, legitimar e concretizar uma oportunidade

Signal opacity and debt contracts in entrepreneurial ventures

New ventures that are unable to fund expansion using internal equity or that prefer to maintain complete firm ownership may supplement existing cash flow by accessing external funds in the form of debt contracts. To overcome liabilities of newness and/or smallness, these firms send signals to external stakeholders intended to represent a sufficient level of legitimacy and worthiness of investment. Stakeholders attempt to overcome information asymmetry by focusing primarily on costly signals from high-quality firms that represent honesty, credibility, and commitment. However, many new ventures are unable to send these signals because they do not possess them. In this study, I examine signal opacity as specific signals that capture stakeholders' attention by alleviating the imbalance of information asymmetry yet are difficult to fully verify due to distortion and a signaling environment of high information verification costs. I also examine the decision-making strategy of the debt financier who utilizes heuristics in the form of expertise to make a probability judgment of credit worthiness based on opaque information presented by the new venture. As an extension of institutional and signaling theory, I theorize that new venture signals that are opaque and exist in a signaling environment of high information verification costs will have a positive effect on stakeholders' perceptions of legitimacy. I also theorize that the effect of signal opacity and information verification costs is moderated by stakeholder expertise, which is comprised of industry experience.The findings of the qualitative portion were leveraged to validate the hypothesized variable composition of the signal opacity construct as well as to develop the survey instrument used in the quantitative analysis. The results of the main study are intriguing, finding that within environments of high signal opacity, stakeholders will perceive superior and poor new venture signals similarly when granting legitimacy judgments. Alternatively, the findings also show that within environments of low signal opacity, stakeholders will perceive superior and poor new venture signals differently when assessing legitimacy. Lastly, the findings do not support the notion that stakeholder experience is an important factor when making legitimacy perceptions based on these specific signals

Optimization of Ingredient and Process Parameters for Chicken Nuggets

The optimization of five different vegetable proteins (Arcon soy protein concentrate [ASP], Arcon Textured Vegetable Protein flour [ATVP], Supramax soy protein [SMXP], Solae Response soy protein [SRSP], and textured wheat protein, {Wheatex WP]) at three usage levels (10%, 20%, and 30%) were compared to a control industry standard chicken nugget. All nuggets were made uniform shape and size to evaluate weights throughout manufacturing: raw, battered and breaded, cooked (fried), frozen, and reheated. Control nuggets had the lowest (P < 0.05) raw, frozen and reheated weights among all treatments. Cooked weights were heaviest (P < 0.05) for WP 30%, among all treatments, excluding ASP 10%. Compositional properties, fat, moisture, protein, and pH were all taken in duplicate. There were no differences (P < 0.05) for compositional properties, fat, moisture, and protein among treatments. The pH of nuggets showed control to have the lowest (P < 0.05) pH of percentage treatment levels, except 10%. Sensory evaluations were performed using a consumer sensory panel. All nuggets scored in the acceptable category, regardless of percentage treatment level. Flavor profile was similar among all treatments. However, ATVP 30% and SRSP 30% scored lowest (P < 0.05) among all treatments and control. Wheat Protein 30% scored highest (P < 0.05) for juiciness and tenderness compared to all treatments and control, except WP 20%. Texture, overall likeability, and off-flavor showed no differences (P < 0.05) among all treatments and control. Texture profile was analyzed and showed ATVP to have the highest numerical value among all treatments and control. Vegetable proteins had the ability to be incorporated into chicken nuggets for the purpose of reducing production costs, by adding and retaining weight throughout manufacturing, when compared to a control nugget. Sensory attributes are not affected below the acceptable range across all treatments, yet some treatments where preferred in particular areas such as juiciness and tenderness.Department of Animal Scienc

Tumor prevention facilitates delayed transplant of stem cell‐derived motoneurons

Objective Nerve injuries resulting in prolonged periods of denervation result in poor recovery of motor function. We have previously shown that embryonic stem cell-derived motoneurons transplanted at the time of transection into a peripheral nerve can functionally reinnervate muscle. For clinical relevance, we now focused on delaying transplantation to assess reinnervation after prolonged denervation. Methods Embryonic stem cell-derived motoneurons were transplanted into the distal segments of transected tibial nerves in adult mice after prolonged denervation of 1–8 weeks. Twitch and tetanic forces were measured ex vivo 3 months posttransplantation. Tissue was harvested from the transplants for culture and immunohistochemical analysis. Results In this delayed reinnervation model, teratocarcinomas developed in about one half of transplants. A residual multipotent cell population (~ 6% of cells) was found despite neural differentiation. Exposure to the alkylating drug mitomycin C eliminated this multipotent population in vitro while preserving motoneurons. Treating neural differentiated stem cells prior to delayed transplantation prevented tumor formation and resulted in twitch and tetanic forces similar to those in animals transplanted acutely after denervation. Interpretation Despite a neural differentiation protocol, embryonic stem cell-derived motoneurons still carry a risk of tumorigenicity. Pretreating with an antimitotic agent leads to survival and functional muscle reinnervation if performed within 4 weeks of denervation in the mouse

A Manual of Poultry Diseases.

48 p

A Manual of Poultry Diseases.

56 p