Quasi-Spherical Gravitational Collapse in Any Dimension

We study the occurrence and nature of naked singularities for a dust model with non-zero cosmological constant in ($n+2$)-dimensional Szekeres space-times (which possess no Killing vectors) for $n\geq 2$. We find that central shell-focusing singularities may be locally naked in higher dimensions but depend sensitively on the choice of initial data. In fact, the nature of the initial density determines the possibility of naked singularity in space-times with more than five dimensions. The results are similar to the collapse in spherically symmetric Tolman-Bondi-Lema\^{\i}tre space-times.Comment: 11 Latex pages, No figure, Revtex styl

Dietary Phytase: an ideal approach for a cost effective and low-polluting aquafeed

Global fishmeal production from wild-catch sources cannot continue to increase indefinitely; suitable alternatives have to be found for sustainable aquaculture. Plant-based aquafeed seems to be the ideal alternative to this, but has its own limitations. Plant ingredients are rich in phytic acid, which reduces the bioavailability of nutrients like minerals and protein to the fish, thereby causing aquaculture pollution. Dietary phytase treatment reduces the aquaculture pollution by improving the bioavailability of nutrients, and reduces the feed cost as evident from poultry and piggery. Phytase activity is highly dependent upon the pH of the gut. Unlike mammals, fish are either gastric or agastric, and hence, the action of dietary phytase varies from species to species. In this article, the authors attempt to summarise various effects of phytase on nutrient utilization, growth of fish and aquatic pollution

A study of higher dimensional inhomogeneous cosmological model

In this paper we present a class of exact inhomogeneous solutions to Einstein's equations for higher dimensional Szekeres metric with perfect fluid and a cosmological constant. We also show particular solutions depending on the choices of various parameters involved and for dust case. Finally, we examine the asymptotic behaviour of some of these solutions.Comment: 9 Latex pages, No figure, Revtex styl

Shell Crossing Singularities in Quasi-Spherical Szekeres Models

We investigate the occurrence of shell crossing singularities in quasi-spherical Szekeres dust models with or without a cosmological constant. We study the conditions for shell crossing singularity both from physical and geometrical point of view and they are in agreement.Comment: 10 latex pages, RevTex style, no figure

Ultra-narrow and widely tunable Mn^(2+) Emission from Single Nanocrystals of ZnS-CdS alloy

Extensively studied Mn-doped semiconductor nanocrystals have invariably exhibited photoluminescence (PL) over a narrow energy window of width <= 149 meV in the orange-red region and a surprisingly large spectral width (>= 180 meV), contrary to its presumed atomic-like origin. Carrying out emission measurements on individual single nanocrystals and supported by ab initio calculations, we show that Mn PL emission, in fact, can (i) vary over a much wider range (~ 370 meV) covering the deep green-deep red region and (ii) exhibit widths substantially lower (~ 60-75 meV) than reported so far, opening newer application possibilities and requiring a fundamental shift in our perception of the emission from Mn-doped semiconductor nanocrystals.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure