https://ph02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MIJEEC <p><span id="ContentBody_cBody_LabelAbout">Maejo International Journal of Energy and Environmental Communication (Maejo Int. J. Energ. Environ. Comm. or MIJEEC), the international journal for the publication of all preliminary communications in Environmental Science, Applied Science and Energy Engineering is one of the peer-refereed journals of Maejo University. ISSN: 2673-0537; ISSN: 2774-0064 (Online) Frequency: 3 issues/year.&nbsp;</span></p> School of Renewable Energy, Maejo University, Thailand en-US Maejo International Journal of Energy and Environmental Communication 2673-0537 <p>Copyright © 2019 MIJEEC - Maejo International Journal of Energy and Environmental Communication, All rights reserved. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License</p> https://ph02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MIJEEC/article/view/257556 <p class="p1">With recent medical technology developments, hydrogels have gained vast interest due to their soft tissue-like mechanical properties, injectability, high water content, etc. Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels are highly commendable due to their synthetic structure, tunable architecture, biocompatibility, and reproducibility. In the present research, zinc nanoparticles at various concentrations (0.025, 0.05, 0.075 wt%) were infused in PEG hydrogels to enable better biocompatibility. The prepared nanocomposites are evaluated for their morphological, functional, and structural characteristics compared to naïve PEG hydrogel. Antibacterial activity revealed that PEG + 0.075 wt% Zn exhibited the maximum zone of inhibition of 0.09 ± 0.2mm compared to plain hydrogel (0.02 ± 0.5 mm). Statistical analysis through independent T-test exhibited a statistical significance of the nanocomposite hydrogel with p= 0.001, (p&lt;0.05) when tested with a G-power of 80%, 0.5 alpha error, and 95% confidence interval. The present research introduces novel PEG-Zn nanocomposite hydrogels and offers a future scope for bioengineering applications.</p> Vaidhegi Kugarajah Pradeesh Vignesh Copyright (c) 2025 Vaidhegi Kugarajah, Pradeesh, Vignesh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2024-09-23 2024-09-23 6 3 1 8 10.54279/mijeec.v6i3.257556 https://ph02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MIJEEC/article/view/258340 <p class="p1">Vanadium (V) contamination in soils, primarily from mining, industrial activities, and fossil fuel combustion, poses a significant ecological threat to plants, animals, and humans. While vanadium is an essential trace element in biological systems, excessive accumulation disrupts plant physiological processes, leading to oxidative stress, impaired growth, and reduced crop productivity. Brassinosteroids (BRs), a class of plant steroid hormones, have emerged as promising agents for mitigating heavy metal toxicity. This study explores the role of BRs, particularly 28-homobrassinolide (HBL) and 24- epibrassinolide (EBL), in alleviating vanadium stress in plants. BRs enhance plant tolerance by modulating antioxidant defense mechanisms, regulating metal uptake, and activating stress-related signaling pathways such as MAPK and NADPH oxidase pathways. Additionally, BRs stimulate the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at controlled levels, inducing stress-adaptive responses while preventing oxidative damage. This review discusses vanadium speciation, soil contamination levels, plant uptake mechanisms, and the potential of BRs in assisted phytoremediation strategies. Understanding the molecular and physiological interactions between BRs and vanadium toxicity will provide insights into developing sustainable agricultural practices for improving crop resilience in contaminated environments.</p> Yanhua Li Prakash Bhuyar Copyright (c) 2025 Yanhua Li, Prakash Bhuyar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2024-09-29 2024-09-29 6 3 9 19 10.54279/mijeec.v6i3.258340