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When multiple elements come together, hydraulic concrete develops cracks of varying widths, which huts the dependability of buildings. Therefore, with pertinent tools or procedures, swiftly ascertaining the safety status of hydraulic concrete cracks under diverse service conditions is required by conducting a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the elements influencing the onset of cracks. This paper took the safety status of hydraulic concrete cracks as the main body of research; every step of hydraulic conservation infrastructure from the ground up—design stage, construction process, operation environment, and impoundment operation—was thoroughly examined. After establishing a multi-dimensional and multi-level system for the safety status evaluation of hydraulic concrete cracks, the subjective exponential AHP and objective CRITIC method were employed to determine the weight of each factor. Then, the two weights were processed using an enhanced combination assignment method to produce a more scientifically developed combination weight. Furthermore, fuzziness and randomness were considered in the quantitative analysis thanks to integrating cloud theory and extension matter elements. In order to determine the safety evaluation findings for hydraulic concrete fractures, the maximum membership principle and the cloud picture were employed. The conclusion reached after using this method to evaluate Dianzhan Dam was that the crack had a safety grade of III, meaning that it greatly impacted the reliability of the dam, and called for prompt acceptance or repair measures to improve building efficiency and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ischemic Stroke (IS) stands as one of the primary cerebrovascular diseases profoundly linked with inflammation. In the context of neuroinflammation, an excessive activation of microglia has been observed. Consequently, regulating microglial activation emerges as a vital target for neuroinflammation treatment. Catalpol (CAT), a natural compound known for its anti-inflammatory properties, holds promise in this regard. However, its potential to modulate neuroinflammatory responses in the brain, especially on microglial cells, requires comprehensive exploration. Methods: In our study, we investigated into the potential anti-inflammatory effects of catalpol using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells as an experimental model. The production of nitric oxide (NO) by LPS-activated BV2 cells was quantified using the Griess reaction. Immunofluorescence was employed to measure glial cell activation markers. RT-qPCR was utilized to assess mRNA levels of various inflammatory markers. Western blot analysis examined protein expression in LPS-activated BV2 cells. NF-κB nuclear localization was detected by immunofluorescent staining. Additionally, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) were conducted to explore the binding affinity of catalpol with key targets. Results: Catalpol effectively suppressed the production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by LPS and reduced the expression of microglial cell activation markers, including Iba-1. Furthermore, we observed that catalpol downregulated the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β, as well as key molecules involved in the NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB pathway, including NLRP3, NF-κB, caspase-1, and ASC. Our mechanistic investigations shed light on how catalpol operates against neuroinflammation. It was evident that catalpol significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, both of which serve as upstream regulators of the inflammatory cascade. Molecular docking and MDs showed strong binding interactions between catalpol and key targets such as NF-κB, NLRP3, and IL-1β. Conclusion: Our findings support the idea that catalpol holds the potential to alleviate neuroinflammation, and it is achieved by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and NF-κB, ultimately leading to the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Catalpol emerges as a promising candidate for the treatment of neuroinflammatory conditions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 She, Shao, Liu, Huang, Yang and Wan.)