Early Warning Early Action for the Banking Solvency Risk in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Case Study of Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s lives and increased the banking solvency risk. This research aimed to build an early warning and early action simulation model to mitigate the solvency risk using the system dynamics methodology and the Powersim Studio 10© software. The addition of an early action simulation updates the existing early warning model. Through this model, the effect of policy design and options on potential solvency risks is known before implementation. The trials conducted at Bank BRI (BBRI) and Bank Mandiri (BMRI) showed that the model had the ability to provide an early warning of the potential increase in bank solvency risk when the loan restructuring policy is revoked. It also simulates the effectiveness of management’s policy options to mitigate these risks. This research used publicly accessible banking data and analysis. Bank management could also take advantage of this model through a self-stimulation facility developed in this study to accommodate their needs using the internal data.

Bibliographical Scrupulousness and Philological Zeal: Conrad Gessner Working on the editio princeps of ‘Ad se ipsum’

The article concerns the history of the first edition of Greek text of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (1559), printed together with its Latin translation and commentary by Wilhelm Xylander. The Zurich philologist and naturalist Conrad Gessner documented it meticulously from its earliest steps in his Neo-Latin bibliographic handbooks, as well as other printed works and letters, meanwhile contributing somehow to its realization. The controversial issue of Gessner’s and Xylander’s role in the establishing of the text of editio princeps, and thus its attribution, is discussed in detail. The other question under consideration is how Gessner imagined the interaction of humanist philology and bibliography, which had to direct literary history in the age of printed word. Taking into account this particular case of Gessner’s bibliographic and philological inquiry, the author attempts to consider his Bibliotheca universalis not only as seminal compilative and critical work, but also as important means of communication and (self-)stimulation.

Pain is so close to pleasure: the same dopamine neurons can mediate approach and avoidance in Drosophila

In mammals, dopamine is considered a central neuromodulator involved in all kinds of rewarding experiences ('common currency' hypothesis). In insects, the role of dopaminergic neurons in aversive stimuli was discovered before dopaminergic neurons were found to also be involved in processing appetitive stimuli. Here, we screened about 50 transgenic Drosophila lines, representing different subpopulations of dopaminergic neurons for their ability to sustain approach or avoidance behavior, when activated optogenetically in four different operant self-stimulation paradigms. None of the lines sustain consistent behavioral valence in all experiments. Individual lines sustain approach in one experiment and avoidance in another. One line mediated strong avoidance early in the experiment and weak approach in later stages. The evidence presented here appears to contradict a 'common currency' dopamine function in flies. Instead, different dopaminergic neurons convey valence in a context-dependent and flexible manner, reflecting the genetic heterogeneity of the dopaminergic neuronal population.

The Influence of Types of Stimulation and Attitudes to Clitoral Self-stimulation on Female Sexual and Orgasm Satisfaction: a Cross-sectional Study

Introduction Societal assumptions and individual myths that define vaginal penetration as normal sexuality can affect the sexual pleasure of varied sexual activities. Although women orgasm much more easily through direct clitoral stimulation than through vaginal intercourse, many couples desire the latter. The purpose of this study is to investigate how orgasms from different types of stimulation with a partner affect sexual satisfaction and orgasm satisfaction in cisgender women. Also, the attitude of women to stimulate their clitoris themselves to reach orgasm during sex with their partner will be included. Methods Two independent surveys (N = 388 and N = 555) were conducted online in 2016 and 2020. Results Regression analyses showed that orgasm consistency through sexual intercourse had a stronger influence on orgasm satisfaction and sexual satisfaction than orgasm consistency through oral sex, stimulation by the partner’s hand, or self-stimulation. Positive thoughts and feelings about self-stimulation of the clitoris during sex with the partner showed only little effect, but in some cases, they were even negatively related to the reported satisfaction. Conclusions The results indicate that the common misconception about sexuality, that it is normal for women to experience orgasms during penile-vaginal intercourse, influences the subjective evaluation of one’s own sexuality. Orgasms from clitoral stimulation seem to have a second-class quality for some women, although there is no evidence that these orgasms feel like less pleasureable. Policy Implication Rigid assumptions about what normal sexuality should look like should be publicly addressed and discussed in sex education classes.

Acupuncture Modulates Intracranial Self-Stimulation of the Medial Forebrain Bundle in Rats

Acupuncture affects the central nervous system via the regulation of neurotransmitter transmission. We previously showed that Shemen (HT7) acupoint stimulation decreased cocaine-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Here, we used the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) paradigm to evaluate whether HT stimulation regulates the brain reward function of rats. We found that HT stimulation triggered a rightward shift of the frequency–rate curve and elevated the ICSS thresholds. However, HT7 stimulation did not affect the threshold-lowering effects produced by cocaine. These results indicate that HT7 points only effectively regulates the ICSS thresholds of the medial forebrain bundle in drug-naïve rats.

Die Rolle der Stimulationsart für den weiblichen Orgasmus: Psychometrische Eigenschaften der deutschsprachigen Version der Female Orgasm Scale (FOS) und der Clitoris Self-Stimulation Scale (CSSS)

Zusammenfassung Einleitung Ob Frauen Orgasmen erleben und welche subjektive Bedeutung diese haben, kann deutlich nach Stimulationsart variieren. Trotzdem wird Orgasmuserleben in Fragebögen häufig eindimensional erfasst, ohne auf die Stimulationsart einzugehen, was zu Verzerrungen der Antworten führen kann. Auch ob der Orgasmus eigenverantwortlich angestrebt wird, bleibt unbeachtet. Forschungsziele Das Ziel dieser Studie ist es, eine sprachlich adaptierte Version der Female Orgasm Scale (FOS) und der Clitoris Self-Stimulation Scale (CSSS) zu erstellen und eine psychometrische Überprüfung an einer deutschen Stichprobe vorzunehmen. Methoden Die Female Orgasm Scale (FOS) erfasst, wie regelmäßig Orgasmen durch verschiedene Stimulationsarten (vaginaler Geschlechtsverkehr mit und ohne zusätzliche Klitorisstimulation, Stimulation durch die Hand des Partners, Oralsex, Selbststimulation) erlebt werden, sowie die Zufriedenheit mit Anzahl und Qualität der Orgasmen. Die Clitoris Self-Stimulation Scale (CSSS) erfasst das Verhalten, den Affekt und die Einstellung bezüglich Klitorisselbststimulation, um beim Sex mit dem Partner einen Orgasmus zu erleben. Mittels einer Online-Umfrage, die 412 Frauen bearbeiteten, wurden die Instrumente deskriptiv und faktorenanalytisch überprüft. Ergebnisse Es ergaben sich überwiegend gute Testgütekriterien, die interne Konsistenz der FOS-D ergab α = .77 und die der CSSS-D α = .81. Für die FOS-D konnten zwei Faktoren extrahiert werden: 1. Orgasmuskonsistenz durch vaginale Penetration und Orgasmuszufriedenheit und 2. Orgasmuskonsistenz durch klitorale Stimulationsarten. Für die CSSS-D ergab sich nur ein Faktor. Schlussfolgerung Die Instrumente können die Diagnostik und Therapie von sexuellen Funktionsstörungen der Frau unterstützen, da sie ein differenziertes Bild des Orgasmuserlebens sowie des damit verbundenen Verhaltens bei partnerschaftlicher Sexualität liefern.

Recommendations for Abnormal Behaviour Ethograms in Monkey Research

Laboratory monkey ethograms currently include subcategories of abnormal behaviours that are based on superficial morphological similarity. Yet, such ethograms may be misclassifying behaviour, with potential welfare implications as different abnormal behaviours are likely to have distinct risk factors and treatments. We therefore investigated the convergent validity of four hypothesized subcategories of abnormal behaviours (‘motor’, e.g., pacing; ‘self-stimulation’, e.g., self-sucking; ‘postural’, e.g., hanging; and ‘self-abuse’, e.g., self-biting). This hypothesis predicts positive relationships between the behaviours within each subcategory. Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) data on 19 abnormal behaviours were obtained from indoor-housed animals (n = 1183). Logistic regression models, controlling for sex, age, and the number of observations, revealed that only 1/6 ‘motor’ behaviours positively predicted pacing, while 2/3 ‘self-abuse’ behaviours positively predicted self-biting (one-tailed p-value < 0.05). Furthermore, ‘self-stimulation’ behaviours did not predict self-sucking, and none of the ‘postural’ behaviours predicted hanging. Thus, none of the subcategories fully met convergent validity. Subsequently, we created four new valid subcategories formed of comorbid behaviours. The first consisted of self-biting, self-hitting, self-injurious behaviour, floating limb, leg-lifting, and self-clasping. The second comprised twirling, bouncing, rocking, swinging, and hanging. The third comprised pacing and head-twisting, while the final subcategory consisted of flipping and eye-poking. Self-sucking, hair-plucking, threat-biting, and withdrawn remained as individual behaviours. We encourage laboratories to replicate the validation of these subcategories first, and for scientists working with other species to validate their ethograms before using them in welfare assessments.