The current study focuses on autonomic nervous system activity during sleep as a physiological aspect of sleep quality, and investigated the associations between the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and autonomic activity during sleep and after awakening. Ambulatory electrocardiograms were obtained from 20 participants, who also provided saliva samples (at the time of awakening, and 30, 45, an...

In most healthy people morning awakening is associated with a burst of cortisol secretion: the cortisol awakening response (CAR). It is argued that the CAR is subject to a range physiological regulatory influences that facilitate this rapid increase in cortisol secretion. Evidence is presented for reduced adrenal sensitivity to rising levels of ACTH in the pre-awakening period, mediated by an e...

This paper reviews the progress of Islamic banking from both theoretical and practical aspects. It highlights the basic principles on which Islamic banking is based and describes the operational details of Islamic banks. It mentions some of the misgivings with respect to the viability of Islamic banking and evaluates them objectively. It highlights the effects of Islamic banking on savings, inv...

Four options for assigning a meaning to Islamic Logic are surveyed including a new proposal for an option named Real Islamic Logic (RIL). That approach to Islamic Logic should serve modern Islamic objectives in a way comparable to the functionality of Islamic Finance. The prospective role of RIL is analyzed from several perspectives: (i) parallel distributed systems design, (ii) reception by a ...

Islamic banking is currently one of the fastest growing segments of the financial market industry, operating in over 75 countries through 300 institutions. While past literature has established the development of financial institutions as a determinant of economic growth, research on the correlation of the diffusion of Islamic banking with economic growth is limited. This study seeks to add to ...

This article examines the unique risks associated with Islamic financial institutions and the secular state’s reticence to directly regulate their religious dimension. It argues that the state’s method of regulating the Islamic financial industry ignores special reputational risks associated with the religious and cultural distinctiveness of Islamic banks. The Financial Services Authority (FSA)...

BACKGROUND Patients with winter depression, (seasonal affective disorder, SAD) frequently complain of difficulty awakening in the morning. Dawn simulation has been found effective in treating SAD, but its effect on difficulty awakening has not been assessed. METHODS Fifty medication-free patients with SAD associated with hypersomnia were randomized to receive either 1 week of dawn simulation ...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the nature and changes of market concentration in the Malaysia’s Islamic banking due to the restructuring of Islamic banking industry within the liberalization wave in the banking market. A total of 17 Islamic banks operating over the period of 2000-2010 had been considered. The structural approach framework was used to evaluate the nature and changes of mar...