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An optimal design for a pressurized flow pipe network is characterized by being economical and contributing the least amount of losses during water transmission through the system. The diameter of a pipe in a network system that delivers the desired effect with the minimum amount of waste and expenses is referred to as an optimal pipe size. The Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) model is widely recognized as the recommended standard technique to estimate the optimal pipe size for any pipe flow network system. Numerous empirical formulas have been proposed to simplify the computations required in this economic analysis model. This study seeks to compare the various empirical models that have been proposed by different authors based on a variety of physical variables involved in fluid flow dynamics. Eleven different empirical equations were chosen in order to select the optimal diameter for the network at the Hamelmalo Agricultural College farm located in the Anseba region of Eritrea for the distribution of water to the different sub-plots. The estimated diameters were compared to the standard diameter calculated using the standard LCCA method. This comparison was based on the estimated total head losses and economic analysis of the pipe diameters chosen for such network. Moreover, a statistical analysis was conducted to obtain the best-fit recommended modeled diameter for the network. The Bresse’s model performance was the most adequate when compared with the LCCA model.

Context: Desmodium gangeticum (L) DC (Fabaceae; DG), a medicinal plant that grows in tropical habitats, is widely used to treat various ailments including digestive and inflammatory disorders. Aims: To investigate the possible cardioprotective activity of a DG root extract against isoproterenol (ISO)-induced left ventricular cardiac hypertrophy (LVH) in adult Wistar rats. Methods: Daily intraperitoneal administration of ISO (10 mg/kg body weight, single injection) for 7 days induced LVH in rats. The LVH rats were post-treated orally with DG (100 mg/kg body weight) for a period of 30 days. Thereafter, changes in heart weight (HW) and body weight (BW), HW/BW ratio, percent of hypertrophy, collagen accumulation, activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -2 and -9, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes, and the level of an oxidative stress marker, lipid peroxide (LPO), were determined. Results: HW/BW ratio, an indicator of hypertrophic growth, was significantly reduced in DG root post-treated LVH rats as compared with that for the non-treated LVH rats. The altered levels of ventricular LPO, collagen, MMPs-2 and -9, and antioxidant enzymes in the ISO-treated animals reverted back to near normal upon DG treatment. Further, the anti-hypertrophic activity of DG was comparable to that of the standard drug losartan (10 mg/kg). Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that the aqueous root extract of DG exhibited anti-hypertrophic activity in-vivo by inhibiting ISO-induced ROS generation and MMP activities.