Marshes

The main type of plant life in marshes—which are also called emergent wetlands—are soft-stemmed, grasslike (herbaceous) plants; trees and shrubs are generally rare. Marshes can develop in relatively low-lying areas such as shallow depressions in the land, and in channels of rivers, floodplains, deltas, and the shores of lakes. In these areas, the marshes are often fed by streams or other sources of water that bring in both nutrients and silt (a type of very fine soil), which helps to make marshes very fertile. Indeed, marshes produce several tons of dead plant and animal matter that become available to the food chain every year. (Bacteria and fungi break down this material.)

Plants that grow in marshes have evolved various adaptations to help them thrive. Cattails, rushes, arrowheads, pickerelweed, and bur-reed grow with their stems and leaves partially underwater. Other plants, such as water lilies, float on the surface even though their roots grow in the bottom of the marsh. Some plants, including the pondweeds and waterweeds, grow completely underwater.

The silt that supplies nutrients to a marsh can also help fill it in so that, ultimately, trees and shrubs invade the area, and the marsh becomes a swamp. If the water table is high enough, however, the marsh will never have the opportunity to begin the process of evolving into a swamp.

Salt marshes.

Saltwater marshes (also called salt or tidal marshes) are found only in temperate coastal areas. Such marshes often form on the beaches of barrier islands (islands that act as a buffer between the ocean and the mainland), always on the side away from the ocean.

The inner area of a salt marsh is typically flooded; spartina, or cordgrass, is usually the most abundant plant there. As a general rule, the diversity of plant life in a salt marsh increases with distance from the ocean. Similarly, the proportion of freshwater in the marsh increases with distance from the sea. Brackish tidal marshes, for instance, are associated with rivers and are found upstream from a salt marsh. The salinity, or saltiness, of these marshes changes with the tides.

Swamps

In contrast to the herbaceous plants of a marsh, the main type of plants in a swamp are woody—usually trees and shrubs. Like marshes, swamps form in very wet areas; in some cases, swamps have a stream running through them. The soil is typically shallow and composed of organic silt and the mucklike layer of dead plants at the bottom.

Many different kinds of plants flourish in swamps. Near rivers and lakes, for instance, hardwood trees such as alder, willow, red maple, and white and black ash can be found. The bald cypress is found in the cypress swamps of the southeastern United States, and mangrove trees grow both in the southern United States and in other parts of the world. To help it survive in the swamp, the cypress tree grows what are known as “knees”—the more or less cone-shaped parts of its roots that grow near the base of the tree and extend above the surface of the water. Botanists do not understand the exact function of these knees, although they do know that cypress knees grow only when the tree is in a swamp, and not on dry land. The cypress tree itself is frequently home to orchids and bromeliads, which grow on the bark.

The mangrove tree also uses a special adaptation, called air roots, to obtain the oxygen it needs to grow. The mangrove first produces roots that grow horizontally, into the mud of the swamp. Air roots that are about 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) long then branch off from the regular roots, growing up into the air. The mangrove also uses a root known as a prop root for support when it grows on the banks of tidal rivers or along the coasts of oceans.

Swamp plants tend to grow in layers, with “ground cover” such as skunk cabbage, purple-fringed orchid, cardinal flower, jewelweed, and marsh marigold covering the lowest level. Next come shrubs—highbush blueberry, swamp azalea, spicebush, and sweet pepperbush, among others. Trees constitute the top of the system.

The merchant vessels of today are usually referred to as cargo ships, because of the goods they carry. Cargo ships are generally classified according to the type of cargo carried. Tankers carry oil or other fluids. Dry bulk ships carry coal, iron ore, and other bulk goods not requiring containers. Tugs are smaller ships used for helping larger seagoing ships to dock. Tugs carry no cargo, but they are often used to push barges loaded with cargo. A common combination used on rivers is the tug-barge. The unpowered barge has a notch in the stern for the tug; it can carry up to 20,000 tons. Freighters and general cargo ships carry cargo that is separately packaged in boxes or that comes in large pieces. They use hoists on the ship to load and unload cargo. The cargo is stored in holds, large open areas in the hull of the ship

“Roll-on, roll-off” ships are cargo ships that have their cargo containers placed on flatbed trucks. The cargo is then driven over ramps onto the ship through openings in the side and stern. The driver’s cab detaches and is taken back to the pier. The cargo remains on the flatbed body. These ships can carry vehicles or anything else that can be rolled aboard. They are about 700 feet (213 meters) long.

Some vacationing passengers are carried short distances in hydrofoils and air-cushioned craft. These are modern, fast ships that skim the surface of the water.

A hydrofoil uses a shaped surface similar to that of an airplane wing. It lifts the hull out of the water, enabling the ship to travel at higher speeds. The hydrofoil’s shaped surface is essentially an underwater wing. Its shape causes water to flow over the upper surface at a faster rate than over the lower surface. This creates a lower pressure on the top, which produces a lifting force. Since hydrofoils have less surface area than the hull of the ship, there is less drag on them from the motion of the water. This enables the craft to travel at higher speeds than a conventional ship. The hydrofoil ship’s hull sits fully in the water when at rest.

Canonization, the solemn and definitive declaration by the pope, who declares a person as a saint after he/she is dead. After this declaration the deceased becomes worthy of public worship. The decree of canonization, issued only by the pope, does not promote a person to eternal glory; it merely states that the individual has attained that glory and may be venerated as a saint by the faithful.

Beatification,

Roman Catholic Churches have a practice where pope is the authority who declares a person as beatified or blessed after he/she is dead. It is sometimes the first step toward canonization. Beatification differs from canonization in that it constitutes only a permission to venerate a certain person, with restrictions to certain places and to certain liturgical exercises. Outside the designated places it is unlawful to pay reverence to the person beatified or to celebrate Mass with prayers referring to him or her, unless special permission, called an indult, has been granted. Canonization, in contrast, is universal.

Depending on how it is made, relatively pure iron—almost always alloyed with carbon—can take three different forms. Wrought iron, which has a low carbon content, is the easiest to make and was used first. Wrought iron can be hammered and twisted—”wrought” means “worked”—but its melting point is too high for it to be used in liquid form. Cast iron, with a higher carbon content, melts at accessible temperatures, so it can be cast—poured into molds. Steel, intermediate in carbon content, is not as brittle as cast iron and not as soft as wrought iron. Early metallurgists did not know what caused these properties, only that different manufacturing processes led to different results.

While wrought and cast iron still have important applications, nearly all the iron used goes through further processing to make it into steel.

The Bessemer process, developed in the 1850s independently and almost simultaneously by Englishman Henry Bessemer and American William Kelly, utilizes a pear-shaped, tilting converter made of plate steel; it is lined with fire brick and clay. The converter is open at the top and has a double bottom, a “wind box” perforated by holes at the top of the lower chamber. It is tilted to receive an amount of molten pig iron. As it is set upright, air is blown at a high velocity through the holes in the wind box. The air both keeps the molten material from going through the holes and burns out impurities in the iron.

The impurities can be seen burning in the flame at the top of the converter. Manganese, the first to burn, appears as short, ruddy flames out of the top. The flames turn to yellow as the silicon burns, then to white as the carbon burns. The process is done in about 20 minutes, and the molten steel is poured into a ladle. The steel still contains some oxygen from the process. This is removed by adding an alloy of iron and manganese that combines with the oxygen and is removed with the slag.

The open hearth furnace, named for the hearth or floor that is exposed to the sweep of the flames, is a rectangular, completely enclosed brick structure operating at 2,900° F (1,600° C). Open hearths once accounted for 90 percent of the steel production in the United States. They are still used extensively to process vast quantities of scrap steel. One of two burners at either end of the hearth is ignited, sweeping flame down and across the hearth. Pig iron, coke, and limestone are added, as in a blast furnace. It takes about 12 hours to produce a heat, or batch, of molten steel. A plug at the back of the furnace is knocked out and the molten steel flows into a ladle where alloying substances are added. The open hearth furnace also is used in the smelting of lead.

The electric furnace is used for steel alloys that require a large percentage of alloying metals. In this process a large electric arc delivers the heat to melt the ore. Oxygen is not required, thus keeping the oxygen content of the steel alloy to a minimum and keeping the expensive alloying metals from oxidizing.

The oxygen (LD) process was developed by Linz and Donnewitz in Austria and was introduced in the United States in 1954. It produces the same amount if not more steel by volume as the open hearth process. In the LD process, a vessel shaped like and used much in the same way as a Bessemer converter is utilized. High-purity oxygen is injected into the molten mixture from above, causing the impurities to burn off. With the injection of pure oxygen rather than air, nitrogen that makes up 78 percent of the air will not have a chance to be absorbed by the steel. Nitrogen can make the steel excessively brittle.

In vacuum processing the heating takes place in a vacuum chamber, with heat furnished by electric means. A stream of molten steel is poured into the chamber. The vacuum causes the molten ore to form into droplets from which unwanted gases evaporate. The process also prevents the contamination of the molten material by gases as it is being charged, melted, and tapped. The result is a high-strength steel used in turbine shafts, ball and roller bearings, and aircraft and spacecraft where environmental conditions vary widely.

The important alloying metals with steel include aluminum, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc. Various alloying materials along with various processes are used to produce steels of different strengths and hardnesses. These processes include normalizing, heating to high temperature to modify the submicroscopic structure; annealing, a process designed to relieve the internal strains by heating the steel to a moderate temperature, and then allowing it to cool at a slow rate; quenching, cooling at a very fast rate to cause hardness; tempering, or drawing, reheating the metal after quenching to control hardness; and case hardening, changing the chemical composition of the steel’s surface by hardening it, leaving the interior at the original hardness.

High Church, a term applied to persons and practices of the Church of England and the Episcopal Church insofar as they seek to approximate the doctrinal position and liturgical practices of ancient Christianity, particularly of the church in Rome. The High Church view stresses the continuity of the episcopacy with the apostles; the authority of the church; and sacraments. It usually includes a concern for liturgical elaboration. Probably first used in the late 17th century, the term became more common in the 19th century with the Oxford Movement and the rise of Anglo-Catholic tendencies.

Low Church, a term applied to members of the Anglican Church who regard the episcopate, priesthood, and sacraments as relatively unimportant and stress a more evangelical, Protestant approach. Adherents of the Low Church position also oppose elaborate liturgy and ceremony and anything that is too close to the usage of the Roman Catholic Church.

The term “Low Church” came into use in the early 18th century to distinguish the more liberal, or Latitudinarian, group from the “High Church,” or conservative group. The term passed out of currency until the 19th century, when it was revived with its current meaning of “evangelical.”"Broad Church” became the term attached to the liberal group. The term “Low Church” is also in use in other churches of the Anglican Communion

Grassland Criteria

Prairies, pampas, steppes, and savannas are all grasslands. They account for about 25 percent of the land surface on Earth. This biome occurs on every continent except Antarctica. Grasslands usually can be found in the middle of the continents and in what is known as a rain shadow—the side of a mountain range on which rain is less likely to fall.

Because grasslands usually receive from 10 to 30 inches (25 to 75 centimeters) of precipitation per year, they are too moist to be a desert but too dry to be a forest. Grasslands typically have a wet and a dry season, extreme temperatures, drying winds, and prolonged droughts—all of which shape the plants and animals that live on them.

Grasslands developed over the past 30 million years as Earth’s climate became cooler and drier and as mountain ranges were pushed up, creating pockets of drier areas. As these new areas developed, new plants that could survive the extremes of life on the grasslands evolved.

Savanna Criteria

Tropical and subtropical grasslands are known as savannas, although locally they may be called prairies, scrubs, chaparrals, pampas, or barrens. Compared to the open types of grasslands, savannas are more parklike, with deciduous trees and small evergreens widely spaced among the grasses and shrubs. Unlike temperate grasslands, savannas are hot year-round. Yet, like all grasslands, savannas are not quite a forest, but are too wet to be a desert. Forests generally change to savannas in areas that receive less than 40 inches (100 centimeters) of rain a year. However, if the conditions are right, savannas can sometimes develop in areas that are wetter. For instance, the savannas, or llanos, in Venezuela receive abundant precipitation, but only at certain times of the year.

Savannas are found most often in the middle latitudes of the world, generally where the winds dry out the land. They are also common on the lee side of mountain ranges—that is, the side protected from the wind—often adjacent to deserts or the more open grasslands of the steppe. Savannas can also develop on either side of a rain forest. In South America, the savannas occupy an area of land about five times the size of France. Savannas and grasslands together extend over approximately 65 percent of the African continent.

Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the best Android phones that have been manufactured while iPhone is one of the best non-Android phones. However, how do we know which is the better pick?

What is iPhone 4?

iPhone 4 is a non-Android phone that has a dimension of 115.2 x 58.7 x 9.3mm and a weight of 137g. It can have either 16GB or 32GB internal memory and a battery life of 1420mAh that can hold up to 10 hours of video. It has 3.5-inch LCD with IPS and a Retina display with a 960 x 640 pixel resolution. It uses 512MB Apple A4 as its processor. iPhone 4 also has a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front camera that can capture videos at 720p. It can also be connected via Wi-Fi, BT 2.1, and 3G.

What is Samsung Galaxy S II?

Samsung Galaxy S II is an Android smartphone that is 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.49 mm in dimension and 117g in weight, which makes it the thinnest phone in the world. Like iPhone 4, it can have an internal storage of 16GB or 32GB. However, it can also support micro SD cards of up to 32GB. It has a battery life of 1650mAh, which can last for a full day even with heavy usage. This is because of their Super AMOLED Plus display, which is very power efficient. Samsung Galaxy S II has a 4.27-inch screen with an 800 x 480 pixel resolution. For its processor, it uses either a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual core with 1GB RAM or 1.2GHz dual core Exynos chip with 1GB RAM. The Galaxy S II also has an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera which can capture 1080p videos at 30fps. These cameras also come with LED flash. The Galaxy S II contains connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Near Field Communication (NFC), 4G, BT 3.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi tethering. It is also assumed to cost less than the iPhone 4.

In brief:

• iPhone 4 is a non-Android phone that can support up to 10 hours of video.
• Samsung Galaxy S II is an Android smartphone that is lighter, thinner, and has a better battery life than the iPhone 4. It can also support micro SD cards of up to 32GB. Its cameras and video shooting is also better, and it is assumed to cost less than the iPhone 4.
• Both phones can have either 16GB or 32GB internal storage.

iPad 2, Motorola Xoom, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 are the latest and greatest tablets that are dominating the market today. Although all great, each one has different features that appeal to different consumers.

What is iPad 2?

iPad 2 is a tablet that has a 9.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768. It is 8.8 mm thick and has a weight of 607g. It uses a 1GHz dual-core AS processor and iOS 4.3 with 512MB RAM. It has an internal storage of 32GB and a 25Wh battery. It has a 1MP rear camera that can shoot 720p video but its pictures have a lower resolution than its competitors. It also has a VGA front camera and a 3G network.

What is Motorola Xoom?

Motorola Xoom is a tablet that uses a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS with 1GB RAM. It is 12.7mm thick and 730g heavy, which makes it the thickest and heaviest among the three. It has a 10.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It has an internal storage of 32GB and can support micro SD’s of up to 32GB as well. Its rear camera is 5 megapixels that can record 720p video with a 1080p playback. It also has a 2-megapixel front camera and extra HDMI and USB 2.0 ports. It uses a 6500mAh battery, supports Flash, and has a 3G network that can be upgraded to 4G.

What is Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1?

Like the Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800. It also uses a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) OS. However, it is thinner and weighs less. In fact, it is the thinnest and slimmest among the three, having a thickness of 8.6mm and a weight of 599g. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has an internal memory of either 16GB or 32GB. It also has a 4G network and a 6860mAh battery. Its rear camera is 3 megapixels that can record 720p video with a 1080p playback. Its front camera is 2 megapixels.

In brief:

• iPad 2 is an Apple tablet that has the smallest screen and lowest resolution among the three. It also has the lowest camera megapixel.
• Motorola Xoom has the best camera among the three, and can support up to 32GB of external memory through micro SD cards.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 can have either 16GB or 32GB internal storage and is the lightest and thinnest among the three.
• Both the Xoom and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 use the Tegra 2 processor and Android 3.0. They also have the same size and resolution of screen.
• All three tablets use a dual-core processor

Google Nexus S 4G, Motorola Atrix 4G, and the HTC EVO 3D are all high-end Android smartphones that work great out of the box. Listed below are the features and specs of each device.

What is Google Nexus S 4G?

Google Nexus S 4G is a smartphone that has a dimension of 123.9 x 63 x 10.88 mm and a weight of 129 g. It has a Super AMOLED screen and has 16GB internal storage but no micro SD card slot. This screen allows for a vibrant and bright display. Google Nexus S 4G uses 1GHz Hummingbird Cortex A8 Single Core and has 512MB RAM. It has a battery size of 1500 mAh and a camera of 5.0MP Single LED flash autofocus with a 720 x 480 video recording. The battery size, along with its battery saving SAMOLED screen, allows for a long battery life. Google Nexus S 4G uses Android 2.3 Gingerbread as its operating system.

What is Motorola Atrix 4G?

Motorola Atrix 4G is a smartphone with a 117.75 x 63.5 x 10.95 mm dimension and a weight of 135 g. It has a 4.0” TFT qHD 960 x 540 screen, a 1GHz dual core Nvidia Tegra2 processor and GPU, and a 1024MB RAM. It also has a battery size of 1930 mAh and a 16GB internal storage with a micro SD card slot. The micro SD card, however, is not included. It has a 5.0MP camera with dual-LED flash autofocus and a 1280 x 720 video recording. It also has a noise cancelling second mic, fingerprint recognition, and lots of optional docks. Motorola Atrix 4G uses Android 2.2 with Motoblur Skin as its operating system. This OS has no planned upgrade path, which means that it makes a slower software.

What is HTC EVO 3D?

HTC EVO 3D is a smartphone with a dimension of 127 x 66 x 12 mm and a weight of 170 g. It has a 960 x 540 3D super LCD Parallex screen and a 1024MB RAM. It has 1200Mhz Dual Core Snapdragon and Adreno 220 as its processor and GPU. It has a battery size of 1730 mAh and a 5.0MP Dual LED flash autofocus camera with a 1920 x 1080 Full HD 2D and 1280 x 720 3D video recording. Because of its small battery that supports a big SLCD, it may have a bad battery life. It has a 4GB internal storage, a micro SD card slot and a micro SD card. Its operating system is Android 2.3 with HTC’s Sense UI v 3.0 skin.

In brief:

• Google Nexus S 4G is the only one among the three that uses a pure Android operating system. It also has the potential of being the first one with all the newest versions of Android. Furthermore, its SAMOLED screen not only provides a nice display but also allows for a long battery life.
• Motorola Atrix 4G has the smallest physical dimensions among the three. It also has features that the others don’t have, like fingerprint recognition and lots of optional docks.
• HTC EVO 3D is has a 3D display that doesn’t need glasses for it to work. It has the largest physical dimensions among the three but the smallest internal memory. It also has a small battery that supports a big SLCD, which could mean bad battery life. Furthermore, its operating system makes for a slower software.

Android and iOS are the leading and most used operating systems in the world. It is therefore very important that they have good security features so that products that use them are safe.

What are the Security Features of the Android?

Google doesn’t monitor apps that are uploaded in the Android market, which they claim to lead to innovation. However, in case malicious apps are accidentally downloaded, they built an app removal feature. They also prevent malicious apps by verifications and permissions from the user. Androids are very strict when it comes to lock codes. Unlike other phones that don’t require passwords when they have been asleep for only a short while, Androids require them every time the phone needs to be accessed. This can be irritating, however, and may lead to feature disabling.

What are the Security Features of the iOS?

The iOS has a geo location, which comes in handy when you lose your iPhone. By combining with MobileMe, it can easily pinpoint the location of your phone. It also has auto erase, wherein you can ask Apple to erase private data on your phone if it gets lost. Data can also be erased by 10 failed passcode attempts on a lock code. Accidentally erased data can also be retrieved through the backup information located on the desktop. iOS also has data encryption wherein it can encrypt confidential corporate data. This feature, however, is only available for users that password-protect their device. Furthermore, the iOs has 4 layers of OS. This means that apps cannot directly access the hardware.

For apps to appear in Apple’s App Store, the developer has to be registered and must pay an annual fee. Apple also claims to disallow malicious and inappropriate apps in order to keep their good image. However, we all know that this is not always the case.

In brief:

• Androids are not strict when it comes to their app stores but are very strict when it comes to lock codes.
• iOS has a lot of security measures like multilayer protection and remote wipe that the Android OS might want to use in their future versions.