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This study aims to present a great deal of interest in researching plant-based phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals as a possible alternative to synthetic medication, both to avoid their side effects and for financial reasons.

Mankind has used medicinal plants since the beginning of civilization. Nature has been explored as a source of therapeutic chemicals for thousands of years, and many modern drugs have been discovered from natural sources. The primary medical care system of resource-poor areas in India has continued to rely on traditional medicine as the most accessible and reasonably priced form of treatment.

Tinospora cordifolia is a plant that is frequently used in Ayurvedic and traditional medicine throughout India. Although almost all of its parts are used in conventional medical systems, the leaves, stems and roots are the most significant ones used medicinally. All forms of existence can benefit from the versatility of T. cordifolia. It includes a wide variety of compounds that impact the body.

The goal of this review is to provide a concise summary of the knowledge about the pharmacological, phytochemistry, botanical, ethnopharmacology, toxicity study, marketed products and patents of the T. cordifolia plant.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the characteristics of audit committee chairman (ACC) (tenure, age, gender, ethnicity, accounting expertise and directorship) on earnings management (EM) practices.

The Jones model and modified Jones model by Dechow et al. (1995) were used to determine the discretionary accruals (DA) of 288 Malaysian listed firms with lowest positive earnings for the years 2013‒2015.

The results of the ordinary least squares regression indicate that only tenure, gender and ethnicity of the ACC are associated with DA. A further test was conducted by dividing firms into two groups: firms whose boards are chaired by a family member and firms whose boards are chaired by a non-family member. The results reveal that it is possible for firms whose boards are chaired by family members to cause the corporate governance (CG) mechanisms, particularly the audit committee, to lose their effectiveness in overcoming the EM problem. In addition, robustness tests were conducted by using panel data regression, where the results were found to be similar to the original regression results.

This study alerts policymakers, firms and their stakeholders, as well as researchers, regarding the importance of having an independent board chairman, who has no relationship with any directors or major shareholders, as this may hinder the effectiveness of CG mechanisms in curbing EM, especially in emerging countries, such as Malaysia, where it is very difficult to stop members of the family from becoming board directors.

The aim of the study is to examine the influence of remuneration committee (RC) characteristics, namely separation, size, independence, meetings, and female directors, on firm performance (FP) by using return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and earnings per shares (EPS). The study covers all firms being listed in Bahrain Bourse for two years which are 2020 and 2021. The results of the study show that having more directors in RC would significantly increase firm performance “ROE and EPS.” Further, having more females in RC would significantly increase firm performance “ROA.” In addition, having separate RC would significantly decrease firm performance “ROA and EPS.” Moreover, the independence of directors in RC and its frequent meetings has no significant impact on the firm’s performance. The results show that there is a need to re-evaluate the role of the RC and strengthen its effectiveness, as some of the variables examined by this study have an insignificant impact on a firm’s performance. Further, there is a need to allocate additional efforts and policies in developing corporate governance and RCs as well.

Renal failure is an end-stage consequence after persistent hyperglycemia during diabetic nephropathy (DN), and the etiology of DN has been linked to oxidative stress. The purpose of this research was to determine the beneficial synergistic effects of S-Allyl Cysteine (SAC) and Taurine (TAU) on oxidative damage in the kidneys of type 2 diabetic rats induced by hyperglycemia.

Experimental diabetes was developed by administering intraperitoneal single dose of streptozotocin (STZ; 65 mg/kg) with nicotinamide (NA; 230 mg/kg) in adult rats. Diabetic and control rats were treated with SAC (150 mg/kg), TAU (200 mg/kg) or SAC and TAU combination (75 + 100 mg/kg) for four weeks. The estimation of body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), oxidative stress markers along with kidney histopathology was done to investigate the antidiabetic potential of SAC/TAU in the NA/STZ diabetic group.

The following results were obtained for the therapeutic efficacy of SAC/TAU: decrease in blood glucose level, decreased level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and increased levels of GSH, glutathione-s-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT). SAC/TAU significantly modulated diabetes-induced histological changes in the kidney of rats.

SAC/TAU combination therapy modulated the oxidative stress markers in the kidney in diabetic rat model and also prevented oxidative damage as observed through histopathological findings.

Taurine (2-aminoethane sulfonic acid; C2H7NO3S) is a nonprotein sulfur-containing β-amino acid present in nearly all mammalian tissues and the most ubiquitous free endogenous biomolecule in human cells. Taurine is commonly known as a conditionally essential amino acid because taurine is one of the few amino acids that are not incorporated in protein synthesis. The purpose of this study is to review the existing articles related to taurine and to give an account how useful is taurine to the different body systems. In this thorough overview, taurine is covered in terms of its essentiality, sources, advantages for neonates and the elderly, the effects of taurine deficiency, and the safety and toxicity of taurine supplements.

This is a narrative review into the subject matter. Published articles were searched on different portals like PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubChem etc. The authors also evaluated the availability of taurine in commercially available energy drinks.

This comprehensive review, presents the potential clinical benefits and functional properties of taurine as a conditionally essential amino acid. Energy drinks containing taurine (and their concentration) are also reported in this review.

This is the first data that the authors are aware of that shows taurine content in a variety of energy drinks on the market.

In the existing era, the Internet of Things (IoT) can be considered entirely as a system of embedding intelligence. The transverse character of IoT systems and various components associated with the arrangement of IoT systems have confronted impediments in the form of security and trust. There is a requirement to efficiently secure the IoT environment. The present study recommends a framework for impediments to secure and trustworthy IoT environments.

The present study identifies thirteen potential impediments to secure and trustworthy IoT environment. Further, a framework is developed employing Total Interpretive Structural Model (TISM) and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) approach. The integrated approach is employed as TISM organizes inter-relations among the identified impediments, while MICMAC analysis organizes interpretations related to the driving and dependence power of the impediments.

The results from the study represents that security of IoT from arbitrary attacks is the impediment that has attained the highest driving power. The impediments such as “security of IoT from arbitrary attacks”, “profiling” and “trust and prominence structure” are identified at the top level in the analysis.

The previous studies highlight the facilitating contribution of IoT on various devices but neglect the impediments that can contribute towards a safe and trustworthy IoT environment. Also, the present study has its limitations as it depends upon the experts’ recommendations and suggestions.

The existing framework could be beneficial in constructing policies and suggestions to efficiently cater the impediments to a secure and trustworthy IoT environment.