bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An explanation for the varves of the Castile evaporites (Upper Permian), Texas and New Mexico, USA
Authors: Kirkland Douglas W.
Published: September 2003

Abstract Extraordinary sequences of conspicuous, pervasive and laterally persistent varves characterize the Castile evaporites. They occur as singlets (calcite laminae), couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with anhydrite laminae), thick couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with thin anhydrite beds) and triplets (calcite and anhydrite laminae interstratified with thin halite beds). The varves accumulated in a deep (initially ≈ 550 m), persistently stratified, saline lake surrounded by an extinct reef. The lake had formed when the reef grew across a channel between an embayment and the ocean. Although located virtually on the palaeo‐equator, the lake experienced negligible meteoric influx and extreme seasonality. During the season of high relative humidity, more marine groundwater entered the lake through the permeable reef barrier than exited as reflux and, secondarily, as evaporation. Consequently, the lake level rose by up to several metres to sea level. The ‘refreshening’ decreased salinity and replenished dissolved CO2– the critical nutrient limiting growth of indigenous phytoplankton. Algae proliferated, pH increased and CaCO3 precipitated. It mixed with organic matter to form a thin, dark lamina. During the season of low relative humidity, tens of cubic kilometres of water evaporated from and, secondarily, leaked out through the surrounding reef. More water exited than entered, brine level fell below sea level, and salinity of the upper brine layer increased. Gypsum usually precipitated and rained onto the basin floor forming a couplet; infrequently, halite also precipitated forming a triplet. Every few thousand years, for <50 to several hundred years, the lake became unstratified during the dry season, and wind‐induced overturn allowed a layer of gypsum crystals up to ≈ 2 cm high to precipitate on the basin floor. Each layer, now thin beds of anhydrite nodules and anhydrite pseudomorphs after gypsum, and an underlying lamina of CaCO3 and admixed organic matter formed a thick couplet. The different varve types recur with a period of 1800–3000 years reflecting climatic changes on a millennial time scale.
Determination of the selenium requirement in kittens*
Authors: Wedekind K. J. , Howard K. A. , Backus R. C. , Yu S. , Morris J. G. , Rogers Q. R.
Published: September 2003

The purpose of this study was to determine the selenium (Se) requirement in kittens. Thirty‐six specific‐pathogen‐free kittens (9.8 weeks old) were utilized in a randomized complete block design to determine the Se requirement in cats with gender and weight used as blocking criteria. Kittens were fed a low Se (0.02 mg/kg Se) torula yeast‐based diet for 5 weeks (pre‐test) after which an amino acid‐based diet (0.027 mg Se/kg diet) was fed for 8 weeks (experimental period). Six levels of Se (0, 0.05, 0.075, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.30 mg Se/kg diet) as Na2SeO3 were added to the diet and were used to construct a response curve. Response variables included Se concentrations and Se‐dependent glutathione peroxidase activities (GSHpx) in plasma and red blood cells (RBC) as well as plasma total T3 (TT3) and total T4 (TT4). No significant changes in food intake, weight gain or clinical signs of Se deficiency were noted. Estimates of the kitten's Se requirement (i.e. breakpoints) were determined for RBC and plasma GSHpx (0.12 and 0.15 mg Se/kg diet, respectively), but no definitive breakpoint was determined for plasma Se. Plasma TT3 increased linearly, whereas plasma TT4 and the ratio of TT4 : TT3 decreased in a quadratic fashion to dietary Se concentration. The requirement estimate determined in this study (0.15 mg Se/kg) for kittens is in close agreement with other species. As pet foods for cats contain a high proportion of animal protein with a Se bioavailability of 30%, it is recommended that commercial diets for cats contain 0.5 mg Se/kg DM.
Molecular Epidemiology of Classical Swine Fever in the Russian Federation
Authors: Vlasova A. , Grebennikova T. , Zaberezhny A. , Greiser‐Wilke I. , Floegel‐Niesmann G. , Kurinnov V. , Aliper T. , Nepoklonov E.
Published: September 2003

The ability to discriminate between various classical swine fever virus (CSFV) strains and isolates is a prerequisite for following the spread of the virus after an outbreak. To determine the relatedness between Russian CSFV isolates from different geographical regions, three fragments of the viral genome (5′ NTR, the variable region of the E2 gene and a fragment of the NS5B gene) were sequenced and used for genetic typing. Thirty‐one field isolates were obtained from CSF outbreaks which occurred between 1994 and 1999. In addition, three attenuated strains were included in the study, namely the LK and CS vaccine strains, and the moderately virulent 238H isolate. The vaccine strains have been used in Russia for more than 30 years. Our results showed that all field isolates are in subgroup 1.1 together with Alfort 187 and with the highly virulent strain Shimen. In contrast, the CS and LK vaccine strains belong to subgroup 1.2. While there is no evidence for the reversion of the two vaccine strains to wild type, it is feasible that the highly virulent Shimen strain, which has been used as a challenge strain for many years, contributed to field strain generation. The Russian field isolates from the 1990s can be distinguished from the CSF virus isolates which occurred in the EU Member States in the same decade, as here all outbreaks were caused by CSF viruses belonging to subgroup 2.
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease: a First Survey of the Distribution of Beak and Feather Disease Virus Inside the Population of Captive Psittacine Birds in Germany
Authors: Rahaus Markus , Wolff Manfred H.
Published: September 2003

Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is the most common viral disease of wild and captive psittacine birds. Here, we designed the first survey to investigate the existence of subclinical infections and the distribution of the causative agent named beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) inside the population of captive psittacine birds in Germany. DNA was isolated from feathers of 146 symptom‐free birds from 19 different genera (all psittaformes) taken from 32 independent breeders from all over Germany. The presence of BFDV was analysed by performing polymerase chain reaction assays. Fifty‐eight (39.2%) samples were found to be positive for BFDV. As expected, there was no significant predominance of one sex to be infected with BFDV.
Long‐term effects of a single exposure to immobilization stress on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis: transcriptional evidence for a progressive desensitization process
Authors: Vallès Astrid , Martí Octavi , Armario Antonio
Published: September 2003

In the present work we have characterized the long‐term influence of a single exposure to the stress of immobilization (IMO) on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis of adult rats. Rats without prior stress (control) and rats exposed to IMO for 2 h on day 1 (IMO+4wk) or on day 21 (IMO+1wk) were killed on day 28, either without stress (basal), immediately after IMO for 1 h (IMO), or 1 h after termination of IMO (post‐IMO). IMO caused a strong activation of c‐fos mRNA and corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin (AVP) heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in control rats; this activation was essentially maintained in the post‐IMO period. The overall AVP hnRNA response to day 28 stress was not affected by prior stress. Post‐IMO c‐fos mRNA and CRF hnRNA levels were lower in previously stressed rats, as compared with controls. Whereas the effect of prior IMO on both peripheral HPA hormones and c‐fos mRNA was maximal in IMO+1wk rats, the effect of prior stress on CRF hnRNA was only observed in IMO+4wk rats. The present data indicate that prior single IMO triggers a process of desensitization of the HPA responsiveness to IMO over the course of the following weeks. Although the various components of the HPA axis were modified in the same direction, a clear temporal dissociation was found among them, revealing the fine tuning of stress‐induced activation of the HPA axis.
Localization of the GABAergic and non‐GABAergic neurons projecting to the sublaterodorsal nucleus and potentially gating paradoxical sleep onset
Authors: Boissard Romuald , Fort Patrice , Gervasoni Damien , Barbagli Bruno , Luppi Pierre‐Hervé
Published: September 2003

We recently determined in rats that iontophoretic application of bicuculline or gabazine [two GABAa antagonists] and kainic acid (a glutamate agonist) in the sublaterodorsal nucleus (SLD) induces with a very short latency a paradoxical sleep‐like state. From these results, we proposed that GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs to the SLD paradoxical sleep (PS)‐executive neurons gate the onset of PS [R. Boissard et al. (2002) Eur. J. Neurosci., 16, 1959–1973]. We therefore decided to determine the origin of the GABAergic and non‐GABAergic inputs to the SLD combining ejection of a retrograde tracer [cholera‐toxin B subunit (CTb)] with glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) immunohistochemistry. The presence of GAD‐immunoreactive neurons in the SLD was confirmed. Then, following CTb ejections centred on the SLD, combined with GAD and CTb immunohistochemistry, double‐labelled cells were observed in the mesencephalic and pontine reticular nuclei and to a lesser extent the parvicellular reticular nucleus. A large number of GAD‐negative retrogradely labelled cells was also seen in these structures as well as in the primary motor area of the frontal cortex, the central nucleus of the amygdala, the ventral and lateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the lateral hypothalamic area, the lateral and ventrolateral periaqueductal grey and the lateral paragigantocellular reticular nucleus. From these results, we propose that the activation of PS‐executive neurons from the SLD is due to the removal of a tonic inhibition from GABAergic neurons localized in the SLD, and the mesencephalic and pontine reticular nuclei. Strong non‐GABAergic inputs to the SLD could be excitatory and responsible for the tonic glutamatergic input on the PS‐on neurons we have previously described. They could also terminate on SLD GABAergic interneurons and be indirectly responsible for the inhibition of the PS‐on neurons during waking and slow‐wave sleep.
Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs mediate increased in vitro glial expression of apolipoprotein E protein
Authors: Aleong Rosanne , Aumont Nicole , Dea Doris , Poirier Judes
Published: September 2003

Epidemiological studies have shown that use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by the elderly is associated with a decreased relative risk and a delayed onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In contrast, the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene has proven to be a risk factor for AD with apoE ε4 AD patients having been found to show lower levels of brain apoE. In the present study, treatment of primary rat mixed glial cell cultures with the common NSAIDs, indomethacin and aspirin, induced significant increases in extracellular apoE protein levels. Similarly, treatment of primary rat astrocyte cell cultures with aspirin and a cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2‐selective aspirin derivative also stimulated significant increases in apoE protein. However, astrocyte and mixed glial apoE protein levels were significantly reduced following exposure to COX‐2‐specific indomethacin amides and an inactive indomethacin derivative. ApoE protein modulation was observed at physiological and subphysiological concentrations well below the COX inhibition IC50 values of the NSAIDs used, suggestive of a COX‐independent mechanism. In contrast to these results, indomethacin and aspirin treatment failed to induce any significant changes in apoE mRNA levels. The failure of NSAIDs to significantly alter apoE expression may have been indicative of a nontranscriptional mechanism of apoE protein induction. Consequently, NSAID‐induced increases in apoE protein may enhance apoE‐mediated immunosuppression and compensatory synaptic plasticity, potentially resulting in decreased AD risk and delay of disease onset.
Exogenous erythropoietin protects against dorsal root ganglion apoptosis and pain following peripheral nerve injury
Authors: Campana W. Marie , Myers Robert R.
Published: September 2003

Erythropoietin (Epo) has been shown to have potent anti‐apoptotic activity in central nervous system neurons in animal models of ischaemic injury. Recently, Epo and its receptor (EpoR) have been identified in the peripheral nervous system [Campana & Myers (2001), FASEB J., 15, 1804–1806]. Herein, we demonstrate that in painful neuropathy caused by L5 spinal nerve crush (SNC), therapy with recombinant human Epo (rhEpo) reduced dorsal root ganglion (DRG) apoptosis and pain behaviours. Quantification of both DRG neurons and satellite cells revealed that vehicle‐treated, crush‐injured DRGs had 35.5 ± 8.3% apoptotic neurons and 23.5 ± 2.36% satellite cells compared with 7.5 ± 6.3% apoptotic neurons and 6.4 ± 3.94% satellite cells in rhEpo‐treated, crush‐injured DRGs (P < 0.05). While rhEpo‐treated animals were not initially protected from mechanical allodynia associated with L5 SNC, rhEpo did significantly improve recovery rates compared to vehicle‐treated animals (P < 0.01). Systemic rhEpo therapy increased JAK2 phosphorylation, a key anti‐apoptotic signalling molecule for Epo‐induced neuroprotection, in DRGs after crush. Dual immunofluorescence demonstrated Epo‐induced JAK2‐p was associated with both neuronal and glial cells. JAK2‐p was associated with NF200‐positive large neurons and with smaller neurons. This population of small neurons did not colocalize with IB4, a marker of nonpeptidergic, glial derived growth factor‐responsive neurons. The findings link anti‐apoptosis activities of Epo/EpoR/JAK2 in DRG neurons capable of inducing protracted pain states with reductions in pain behaviours, and therefore support a role for Epo therapy in the treatment of neuropathic pain.
Neuronal activity‐dependent increase of net matrix metalloproteinase activity is associated with MMP‐9 neurotoxicity after kainate
Authors: Jourquin Jérôme , Tremblay Evelyne , Décanis Nadège , Charton Gérard , Hanessian Stephen , Chollet Anne‐Marie , Le Diguardher Thierry , Khrestchatisky Michel , Rivera Santiago
Published: September 2003

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) are emerging as important modulators of brain physiopathology. Dramatic changes in the expression of MMPs and TIMPs occur during excitotoxic/neuroinflammatory processes. However, only the measurement of net protease activity is relevant physiologically, and the functional consequences of MMP/TIMP ratio modifications in the brain remain elusive. In order to assess MMP activity and effects in brain tissue, we combinedin vivoand organotypic culture models of kainate (KA)‐induced excitotoxicity to provoke selective neuronal death and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus. Usingin situzymography, we show that KA‐induced excitotoxic seizures in rats increase net MMP activity in hippocampal neurons 8 h after seizures, before their death, and that this increase is neuronal activity‐dependent. Three days after KA, proteolytic activity increases in blood vessels and reactive glial cells of vulnerable areas, in relation with neuroinflammation. At 7 and 15 days, proteolysis remains high in blood vessels whereas it is reduced in glia. In organotypic hippocampal cultures, which lack blood cell‐mediated inflammation and extrinsic connections, a broad‐spectrum inhibitor of MMPs (MMPI), but also a selective MMP‐9 inhibitor, protect hippocampal neurons against KA‐induced excitotoxicity. Moreover, recombinant MMP‐9, but not MMP‐2, induces selective pyramidal cell death in these cultures and KA‐induced neuronal activity exacerbates the neuronal death promoting effects of MMP‐9. These data strongly implicate MMPs, and MMP‐9 in particular, in both excitotoxic neuronal damage and subsequent neuroinflammatory processes, and suggest that selective MMPIs could be therapeutically relevant in related neurological disorders.
Inhibition of neurokinin‐1–substance P receptor and prostanoid activity prevents and reverses the development of morphine tolerance in vivo and the morphine‐induced increase in CGRP expression in cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons
Authors: Powell Kelly J. , Quirion Remi , Jhamandas Khem
Published: September 2003

Chronic treatment with opioid drugs such as morphine leads to the development of tolerance, which manifests as a loss of drug potency. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood, but recent evidence suggests that increased activity of nociceptive sensory transmitters [calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and substance P] and other signalling messengers (prostaglandins) contribute to its development. Chronic intrathecal morphine administration to rats for 7 days produced analgesic tolerance. Co‐administration of SR140333, a selective substance P receptor (neurokinin‐1) antagonist, or nimesulide, a cyclooxygenase‐2‐selective inhibitor, augmented the acute effects of morphine, prevented morphine tolerance and reversed established tolerance. In cultured adult dorsal root ganglion neurons, exposure to morphine for 5 days increased the number of neurons expressing CGRP immunoreactivity. Co‐exposure with the peptide CGRP receptor antagonist CGRP8‐37, SR140333 or nimesulide prevented the morphine‐induced increase in the expression of CGRP immunoreactivity. Additionally, BIBN4096BS, a nonpeptide CGRP receptor antagonist, stereoselectively produced similar effects. In summary, this investigation demonstrates that activity of CGRP and substance P contributes to both the induction and expression of opioid analgesic tolerance. Additionally, it highlights the involvement of prostaglandins generated by spinal cyclooxygenase‐2 activity in the genesis of opioid tolerance. The neuropeptide and prostanoid activity contributing to tolerance is expressed at the level of the primary afferents terminating in the spinal cord. The combination of opioids with agents that block this activity may represent a useful strategy for the prevention as well as the reversal of clinical opioid tolerance.
Founder Effect in Patients with Unverricht‐Lundborg Disease on Reunion Island
Authors: Moulard Bruno , Darcel Françoise , Mignard Didier , Jeanpierre Marc , Genton Pierre , Cartault François , Yaouanq Jacqueline , Roubertie Agathe , Biraben Arnaud , Buresi Catherine , Malafosse Alain
Published: September 2003

Summary:  Purpose: Unverricht‐Lundborg disease (ULD) is the most frequent form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. ULD is caused mostly by a homozygous expansion of a dodecamer repeat in the cystatin B gene (CSTB) promoter. We present here a clinical and molecular study of 14 ULD patients originating from Reunion Island, a French island in the Indian Ocean.

Methods: These ULD patients were clinically evaluated, and the diagnosis of ULD was confirmed molecularly. We analyzed 12 microsatellites flanking CSTB and estimated the date of introduction of the ULD mutation on Reunion Island.

Results: These cases were clinically very similar, with the typical myoclonus syndrome associated with generalized tonic–clonic seizures, cerebellar involvement and, in some cases, mild mental deterioration. The mean age at onset was 9.6 years (range, 5–14 years), and the mean disease duration was 27 years (range, 5–47 years). The 14 patients harbored the typical ULD mutation, with variable degrees of expansion (mean of 56.3 repeats; range, 49–63). A founder effect was detected, with all but one of the Reunion ULD chromosomes displaying expansions belonging to the same haplotype, 1‐1‐1‐2‐6‐4‐3. We estimated the date of arrival of the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of these patients on Reunion Island to the middle of the eighteenth century.

Conclusions: These Reunion ULD patients displayed a homogeneous phenotype. Our molecular results are compatible with the instability of the repeat expansion and revealed a founder effect in Reunion ULD patients and the existence of a MRCA about 12 generations ago.
Voltage‐Dependent Block of N‐Methyl‐d‐Aspartate Receptors by the Novel Anticonvulsant Dibenzylamine, a Bioactive Constituent of l‐(+)‐β‐Hydroxybutyrate
Authors: Donevan Sean D. , White H. Steve , Anderson Gail D. , Rho Jong M.
Published: September 2003

Summary:  Purpose: Previously we demonstrated that l‐(+)‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (L‐BHB), acetoacetate (ACA), acetone, and dibenzylamine (DBA) were anticonvulsant in an audiogenic seizure–susceptible model, and that DBA was a bioactive contaminant identified in commercial lots of L‐BHB. In the present study, we asked whether these effects could be mediated by ionotropic glutamate or γ‐aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptors.

Methods: We studied the effects of both stereoisomers of BHB (as well as the racemate), ACA, and DBA on N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA), α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐proprionic acid (AMPA), and GABAA receptors in cultured rodent neocortical neurons by using whole‐cell voltage‐clamp recording techniques.

Results: Only L‐BHB and DBA exerted a concentration‐ and voltage‐dependent block of NMDA‐evoked currents, whereas none of the tested substrates affected AMPA‐ or GABA‐activated currents. The kinetics of whole‐cell block by L‐BHB and DBA were similar, providing additional evidence that DBA is responsible for the anticonvulsant activity of L‐BHB.

Conclusions: BHB and ACA do not exert direct actions on GABAA or ionotropic glutamate receptors in cultured neocortical neurons. In addition, we provide additional evidence that DBA is responsible for the anticonvulsant activity of L‐BHB, and that this action may be mediated in part by voltage‐dependent blockade of NMDA receptors.
Association Analysis of a Polymorphism of Interleukin 1β (IL‐1β) Gene with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in a Chinese Population
Authors: Jin Liri , Jia Yanbin , Zhang Boyu , Xu Qi , Fan Yu , Wu Liwen , Shen Yan
Published: September 2003

Summary:  Purpose: Temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE‐HS+) is one of the most common medically intractable epilepsies. Although the pathogenesis of HS+ still remains highly controversial, genetics may play a role as a predisposing factor. Previous evidence in a Japanese population shows that the homozygotes for allele 2 at position –511 of the interleukin (IL)‐1β gene promoter region (IL‐1β‐511*2/2) confers susceptibility to the development of HS. However, this result has not been confirmed in populations of European ancestry. Given that the discrepancy may be attributed to ethnic differences, our aim in this study was to test the validity of a previous report in another Asian population.

Methods: This study consisted of total 112 nonlesional TLE patients of Chinese ancestry, and 115 ethnically matched control subjects. A 304‐base pair fragment in position of IL‐1β‐511 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were digested with restriction enzyme AvaI, and run on a 12% polyacrylamide gel. We compared the frequency of this gene variation among 67 refractory TLE‐HS+ patients, 45 patients without HS (TLE‐HS−), and normal control subjects.

Results: The heterozygous type (−511*1/2) is the most common genotype in our patient groups and controls. Allele 1 (−511C) and allele 2 (−511T) showed equal frequency (∼50%), which is similar to that (46%) in Japanese. Analysis of genotype and allele distribution showed no significant difference among the three groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: In contrast with the lower frequency in the white population (35 and 34%) and higher rate in the population of African ancestry (60%), the allele –511T frequency in our present study is ∼50%, indicating differences in the distribution of allele frequencies in IL‐1β‐511 among different ethnic groups. In this Chinese population, however, we still did not find a strong association between IL‐1β‐511 polymorphism and the development of HS.
Efficacy of Topiramate in Children with Refractory Status Epilepticus
Authors: Kahriman Mustafa , Minecan Daniela , Kutluay Ekrem , Selwa Linda , Beydoun Ahmad
Published: September 2003

Summary:  Purpose: Status epilepticus (SE) is a life‐threatening medical condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality that requires urgent medical intervention. Although several agents are available to treat SE, they occasionally fail to abort seizure activity. Topiramate (TPM) was anecdotally reported to be effective in adult patients with refractory SE. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of TPM administered to children with this condition.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the pediatric SE database at the University of Michigan Medical Center and identified three children with refractory SE who were treated with TPM. Those children failed to respond to treatment with benzodiazepines, phenytoin, phenobarbital, midazolam, or pentobarbital. Additional treatment with TPM was administered by nasogastric tube. All patients were continuously monitored by 21‐channel digital EEG machines, and the diagnosis of SE was made by a board‐certified neurophysiologist.

Results: The ages of the three children were 4.5 months, 34 months, and 11 years. TPM was initiated at 2 mg/kg/day in two children and at 3 mg/kg/day in the third. The status was terminated in all three children within 24 h of maintenance therapy with TPM at 5–6 mg/kg/day.

Conclusions: These results support the potential efficacy of TPM for children with refractory SE. Larger prospective series are needed to confirm those results.
Tax and Spending Effects of Municipal Enterprises: The Case of Florida Electric Utilities
Authors: Dehoog Ruth Hoogland , Swanson Bert E.
Published: September 2003

This study tests the appropriateness of two competing hypotheses drawn from the public finance literature about the impact of municipal utility profits on local tax and spending patterns. By comparing data from cities that own their electric utilities to nonelectric cities, this research finds that neither city expenditures nor property tax rates are significantly affected by the transfer of profits. The evidence suggests that the profits are used by cities with relatively weak tax bases to obtain revenues from tax‐exempt institutions, homeowners, and nonresidents.
Reflections on the Role of Joint Financial Management Improvement Program
Authors: Dukes David V.
Published: September 2003

The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program was created by the Congress as a means to encourage and sanction cooperation between the executive and legislative branches in the improvement of the government’s financial management. This article traces the need for and development of the Joint Program. It also points out how underutilized the Joint Program is in today’s efforts by the federal government to develop financial systems which have real meaning for administrative and program management.
Tax Expenditures for Local Governments
Authors: Hughes Jesse W. , Motekat Janne
Published: September 2003

Foregone revenues of state and local governments have been mostly unreported. This is still a neglected subject in governmental accounting. Such significant amounts can make a difference in the choice between direct and indirect spending, and more budget officers are expected to consider the tax expenditure report as a supplement to budget documents.
Federal Reimbursement for Mandates on State and Local Governments
Authors: Whitman Rlay D. , Bezdek Roger H.
Published: September 2003

One of the remedies sought by state and local officials for the growing burden of federal mandates is a mandate reimbursement law. A major purpose of mandate reimbursement is to deter Congress from imposing excessive costs on state and local governments by making it fully accountable for its actions. The paper begins by extending the economic theory of grants to mandates and reimbursed mandates. It goes on to assess the benefits and costs of mandate reimbursement, and to distinguish mandates that should be reimbursed, should a reimbursement program prove desirable, from those that should not. Then, using the economic theory of grants and mandates, the paper compares reimbursed mandates with two alternatives for accomplishing the same objective, compensating grants and procedural rules. It concludes that the latter are more promising than mandate reimbursement.
Tax Increment Financing
Authors: Davis Don
Published: September 2003

Tax Increment Financing (TIP) uses the increase in taxes resulting from an area's redevelopment to help subsidize the costs of redevelopment. The paper focuses on the mechanisms and problems of using real property tax increments under Illinois law. Two distinct methods of calculating tax increments, the “aggregate” and “parcel” methods, are examined. A briefcase study is provided.
Curriculum Development for Public Sector Financial Management
Authors: Slater Susanne V.
Published: September 2003

Inadequate curriculum materials frequently impede the teaching of public sector financial management to graduate and mid‐career students. The Curriculum Development Project at the School of Public Affairs of the University of Maryland has produced a draft curriculum that emphasizes the use of microcomputers and associated analytical skills in integrating topics in finance, accounting and budgeting.
Boom and Bust Budgeting: Repetitive Budgetary Processes in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana
Authors: Omolehinwa Eddy , Roe Emery M.
Published: September 2003

One of the least studied topics in comparative budgeting is how governments budget during economic and boom and bust cycles. Theory and past evidence suggest that national budgets of poorer countries are made and remade continuously over these periods. Case material from Nigeria as well as supplemental information from Ghana and Kenya illustrate the principal features of the persistence, types, and sequence of such repetitive budgeting. The experience of the three countries in boom and bust budgeting has considerable implications both for a theory of comparative budgeting and for national budget management and policy in Subsaharan Africa specifically.
State Tax and Expenditure Limitations: There is No Story
Authors: Howard Marcia A.
Published: September 2003

Out of the troubled economic atmosphere of the late 1970's grew a discontent with government in general and taxation in particular. The tax revolt took hold at the local level and placed limits on the growth of the property tax through celebrated citizen initiatives like Proposition 13 in California. At the national level, uneasiness with the role of government and a sense that taxation was too high culminated in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan. The electorate embraced promises of less government and lower taxes. For states, the tax revolt resulted in a number of state tax and expenditures limitations (TELS). Most had several things in common: they were adopted before 1983, they addressed state appropriations, and they were largely a western phenomenon spreading from California. The overall condition of state economies and structure of state tax systems, in combination with the sensitivity of policymakers to anti‐tax sentiment, have done more to limit state spending than have imposed restrictions.
Coping With the Loss of General Revenue Sharing in Ohio
Authors: Dommel Paul R. , Rasey Keith P.
Published: September 2003

The authors examine the impact of the loss of general revenue sharing on Ohio local governments. A study of seven large cities and surrounding counties found that the loss of the federal funds did not trigger any fiscal crises: it came as no surprise. Localities engaged in a number of coping strategies including cuts in spending and replacement of lost federal funds from local surpluses, increased debt, and some tax increases.
What Do Rental Contracts Reveal About Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard in Rental Housing Markets?
Authors: Benjamin John D. , Lusht Kenneth M. , Shilling James D.
Published: September 2003

This article examines the pricing of rental contracts for two types of renter households: those who are able to amass a large, up‐front security deposit and those with little, or no, security to offer. Empirical tests are presented to suggest that, in dealing with renter households who have little, or no, security to offer, landlords earn at a similar rate of return as lenders who make riskier loans at a high interest rate to borrowers of dubious credit. The analysis suggests that this situation occurs in large part because of the problem of asymmetric information and moral hazard between landlords and renter households regarding the latter's use of the premises.
A Longitudinal Examination of the Appraisal Smoothing Hypothesis
Authors: Diaz Julian , Wolverton Marvin L.
Published: September 2003

Appraisal smoothing, the reduced variability of real estate return series, has been attributed to appraisers being influenced by their own previous value estimates. This hypothesis is tested experimentally. Expert apppraisers from Atlanta were asked to value a hypothetical apartment project in Phoenix. Eight months later, these experts were asked to update their original appraisals given certain market and property changes. At this time, an independent group of Atlanta experts was asked to appraise the property based on the updated conditions. Results support the hypothesis of insufficient adjustment from previous value judgments.
The Effects of Securitization on Mortgage Market Yields: A Cointegration Analysis
Authors: Kolari James W. , Fraser Donald R. , Anari Ali
Published: September 2003

Securitization of the residential mortgage market has completely transformed the process of financing home loans in the U.S. over the last two decades. We examine the effects of securitization on yield spreads in the primary mortgage market. Cointegration techniques are employed to test the relationship between the increasing volume of mortgage securities over time and the yield spread on mortgage loan rates. We find that a 10% increase in the level of mortgage securitization as a proportion of total mortgage originations decreases yield spreads on home loans by as much as 20 basis points. Other results indicate that, while prepayment speed has a significant effect on mortgage yield spreads, default risk does not. We conclude that securitization of the residential mortgage market plays an important role in decreasing the cost of home loans.
Risk and Return within the Single‐Family Housing Market
Authors: Crone Theodore M. , Voith Richard P.
Published: September 2003

The trade‐off between risk and return in equity markets is well established. This paper examines the existence of the same trade‐off in the single‐family housing market. That market is dominated by homeowners, who constitute about two‐thirds of U.S. households. For them the choice about how much housing and what house to buy is a joint consumption‐investment decision. Furthermore, owner‐occupied housing is by nature a lumpy investment whose risk cannot be completely diversified. Does this consumption‐investment link negate the risk‐return trade‐off within the single‐family housing market? Theory suggests the link still holds. This paper supplies empirical evidence in support of that theoretical result.
Revisions in Repeat‐Sales Price Indexes: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?
Authors: Clapp John M. , Giaccotto Carmelo
Published: September 2003

Price indexes based on the repeat‐sales model are revised all the way to the beginning of the sample every time a new quarter of information becomes available. Revisions can adversely affect practitioners. In this paper we examine this revision process both theoretically and empirically. The theory behind the repeat‐sales method says that revisions should lower the standard error of the estimated indexes; we prove that, in fact, the revised index is more efficient than the original one. This implies that large samples should make revisions trivial. However, our data, and the Freddie‐Fannie data, suggest that revisions are large, insensitive to sample size and systematic; revisions are more likely to be downward than upward. In Los Angeles and Fairfax, revisions are usually downward and statistically significant. This bias in initial repeat‐sales estimates is caused by sample selectivity; properties with only one or two years between sales do not appreciate at the same rate as other properties. We hypothesize that these “flips” are improved (possibly cosmetically) between sales. One implication of our analysis is that flips should be removed or downweighted before calculating repeat‐sales indexes. The same model estimated without flips appears free of bias. We find small increases in efficiency from adding up to 4,300 observations to a base of 1,200.
Community Reinvestment and Credit Risk: Evidence from an Affordable‐Home‐Loan Program
Authors: Calem Paul S. , Wachter Susan M.
Published: September 2003

This study examines the performance of home purchase loans originated by a major depository institution in Philadelphia under a flexible lending program between 1988 and 1994. We examine long‐term delinquency in relation to neighborhood housing market conditions, borrower credit‐history scores and other factors. We find that likelihood of delinquency declines with increasing neighborhood housing market activity. Also, likelihood of delinquency is greater for borrowers with low credit‐history scores and those with high ratios of housing expense to income, and when the property is unusually expensive for the neighborhood where it is located.
Real Estate “Cycles”: Some Fundamentals
Authors: Wheaton William C.
Published: September 2003

This paper demonstrates that different types of real estate can have very different cyclic properties. Empirically, it is shown that they do, and the question is posed as to what might distinguish between property markets where movements are largely stable responses to repeated economic shocks and those undergoing a continuing endogenous oscillation. A stock‐flow model is built in which the future expectations of agents, the development lag, the degree of durability and market elasticities all can vary. Experiments reveal the dynamic behavior of the model varies quite sharply with all these factors. Forward forecasting by agents leads to stability, while myopic behavior promotes oscillations. Oscillations are also much more likely when supply is more elastic than demand, development lags are long, and asset durability is low.
Evaluating Statistical Models of Mortgage Lending Discrimination: A Bank‐Specific Analysis
Authors: Stengel Mitchell , Glennon Dennis
Published: September 2003

We present our efforts to develop bank‐specific models to test for the presence of mortgage lending discrimination. We discuss the potential for selection and simultaneity biases and delineate the conditions under which a single‐equation model is appropriate. The results from three national banks demonstrate that, by incorporating the specific underwriting guidelines of each bank, our alternative approach significantly improves the ability of the model to explain the outcomes of the mortgage lending decision process when compared to a single generic specification applied across all banks. Our results also demonstrate the difficulties encountered in attempting to incorporate the specifics of a bank's underwriting criteria and the remaining potential for omitted‐variables problems.
The Workings of the London Office Market
Authors: Hendershott Patric H. , Lizieri Colin M. , Matysiak George A.
Published: September 2003

This paper presents estimates of an equilibrium‐based dynamic adjustment model of the office market, using supply and demand relationships to link construction, absorption, vacancies and rents to employment growth and real interest rates. The model is estimated using data from the City of London office market over 1977–1996. The model tracks the market dynamically, and the severe 1985–1996 cycle is shown to be related to the cycle in employment growth and the movement of real interest rates. The latter directly affects both construction and real rent levels.
Moral Hazard in Home Equity Conversion
Authors: Shiller Robert J. , Weiss Allan N.
Published: September 2003

Home equity conversion as presently constituted or proposed usually does not deal well with the problem of moral hazard. Once homeowners know that the risk of poor market performance of their homes is borne by investors, they have an incentive to neglect to take steps to maintain the homes values. They may thus create serious future losses for the investors. A calibrated model for assessing this moral‐hazard risk is presented that is suitable for a number of home equity conversion forms: (1) reverse mortgages, (2) home equity insurance, (3) shared‐appreciation mortgages, (4) housing partnerships, (5) shared‐equity mortgages and (6) sale of remainder interest. Modifications of these forms involving real estate price indexes are proposed that might deal better with the problem of moral hazard.
Cancellation Strategies in Commercial Real Estate Leasing
Authors: Mooradian Robert M. , Yang Shiawee X.
Published: September 2003

In a contractionary corporate environment, lease cancellation strategy becomes an important component of corporate real estate leasing decisions. This paper presents a leasing model in which less well‐informed lessors offer leases with alternative lease cancellation options. The model demonstrates that a tenant's choice of cancellation option reveals his private information with respect to the likelihood of option exercise. Tenants who select a lease with a downsizing option are more likely to exercise the option. Given the higher likelihood of option exercise, the model suggests that the downsizing option will be priced higher. We examine a sample of 311 leases, and consistent with the model's prediction, we find that on average leases with a downsizing option have significantly higher contract rent. However, termination and sublet options are not associated with higher rent. The evidence suggests that market uncertainty, private information and adverse selection affect the pricing of alternative cancellation options and the choice of cancellation option.
Asset Allocation and the Performance of Real Estate Mutual Funds
Authors: Gallo John G. , Lockwood Larry J. , Rutherford Ronald C.
Published: September 2003

We examine the performance of real estate mutual funds during January 1991–December 1997. As a group, the sampled funds outperformed the Wilshire Real Estate Securities Index on a risk‐adjusted basis by more than 5 percentage points annually. We attempt to explain these surprising findings by examining the fund's asset allocations across stocks, bonds and real estate property types using Sharpe's (1992) effective‐mix test. We find that all of the superior performance is attributable to fund managers' decisions to overweight outperforming property types (apartments and health care) relative to the Wilshire Real Estate Securities Index weights. Performance of the funds matches a multiple‐property‐type benchmark that takes account of the fund's exposure to each property type. Therefore, real estate funds demonstrated superior allocation across property types, but neither superior nor inferior selection within property type, during 1991–1997. Our findings emphasize the importance of asset allocation for real estate mutual‐fund performance.
Percentage Rent in Retail Leasing: The Alignment of Landlord–Tenant Interests
Authors: Wheaton William C.
Published: September 2003

Only retail tenants pay their landlord a percentage of revenue in addition to the traditional fixed rent. The latter has often been shown to vary widely across stores–inverse to the sales externalities generated by the store. This paper demonstrates that revenue percentages vary widely as well, and positively with fixed rent (sales externalities). It is then argued that existing theoretical explanations for percentage rent (involving generic risk sharing and tenant effort issues) are not specific to the retail sector and apply to all tenant–landlord relationships. Instead, a model is proposed where percentage rent gives the correct incentive to landlords–rather than to tenants. In this model, percentage rent ensures that with sales externalities, landlords do not act opportunistically and always have the interest of existing tenants in mind when expanding, altering or reletting space in a shopping center.
The Pricing of Seasoned Equity Offerings: Evidence from REITs
Authors: Ghosh Chinmoy , Nag Raja , Sirmans C. F.
Published: September 2003

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been a very active sector in the capital market over the last few years. This paper examines the pricing of seasoned equity offers by equity REITs during 1991–1996. Consistent with Parsons and Raviv's model, we find that SEOs by REITs are underpriced with respect to both the closing price on the day before and the closing price on the day of the offer. Underpricing depends on the institutional ownership of the firm's common stock. Issues by firms with higher institutional ownership are more underpriced for post‐1990 REITs. Further, consistent with the notion that theories of IPO pricing apply to SEOs as well, the underpricing of SEOs is a function of the issue size and of the underwriter's reputation.
Income, Location and Default: Some Implications for Community Lending
Authors: Van Order Robert , Zorn Peter
Published: September 2003

This paper investigates differences in default losses across income groups and neighborhoods, in an effort to see if there are significant differences between default experience on loans to low‐income households or low‐income neighborhoods and other loans. We find that while defaults and losses are somewhat higher in low‐income neighborhoods, default behavior is similar in the sense that responses to negative equity are similar across neighborhoods, and remaining differences are small and might be explained by omitted variables such as those measuring credit history.
Mortgage Lending, Sample Selection and Default
Authors: Ross Stephen L
Published: September 2003

Traditional models of mortgage default suffer from sample‐selection bias because they do not control for the loan approval process. This paper estimates a sample‐selection‐corrected default model using the 1990 Boston Federal Reserve loan application sample and the 1992 Federal Housing Authority (FHA) foreclosure sample. A single‐equation FHA default model appears to suffer from substantial selection bias, but the bias primarily arises from the omission of credit history and other variables that are only in the application sample. Therefore, default models that contain detailed information on applicants may not suffer from substantial selection bias. Finally, a test for prejudice‐based discrimination is developed and conducted, but the findings are inconclusive.
Tax‐Induced Portfolio Reshuffling: The Case of the Mortgage Interest Deduction
Authors: Dunsky Robert M. , Follain James R.
Published: September 2003

Several provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 had an indirect impact upon the demand for home mortgage debt. These include the elimination of the deductibility of interest on consumer credit, the increase in the standard deduction, and the reduction in the number of expenses that can be itemized. These provisions and the 1983–1989 panel sample of the Survey of Consumer Finances provide an opportunity to study the responsiveness of the demand for home mortgage debt to its tax status relative to the tax treatment of equity‐financed investments in housing and consumer credit. The results are strongly supportive of a highly elastic demand for mortgage debt with respect to its tax price. The best point estimate of this elasticity is –1, but substantial variation is found among certain groups. More generally, the results provide strong support for the phenomenon of portfolio reshuffling.