A commercial mortgage is a specialised commercial loan where the borrower has to put a real property as collateral against the loan. The lender has a legal claim over the property under a commercial mortgage loan until the loan has been fully repaid.Since this business mortgage is flexible and affordable, there has been a steady increase in the number of people applying for such types of commercial loan. The best part of such business and commercial finance options are that they can be structured according to the needs and requirements of your business.However, there are two most important aspects of commercial mortgage loans – interest rates and the repayment schedule that need to be considered while applying for a loan.Let us first focus on the two different interest rate options available in business and commercial mortgage loans:Fixed Rate:
On a fixed rate commercial mortgage loan, the interest rate on the principal amount is negotiated and agreed at the time of approval of the loan by closely examining the risk involved and the current market rates. Here the interest amount is the same until the loan is amortized. With a fixed rate loan, you need to pay a fixed interest rate and no matter how much the market rate fluctuates, it will not affect the interest rate you pay.Variable Interest Rate:
In variable rate commercial mortgages, the interest rate fluctuates during the payback period due to the changes that take place in the Bank Base Rate or LIBOR in the UK. As compared to fixed rate mortgages, here the interest rate is usually lower at the time of signing. The interest rate for each period is determined by the current market rate and a predetermined premium that remains constant throughout the life of the mortgage. The plus point of variable interest rate mortgage is that the borrower can save money when the market rate decreases but also risks paying more if interest rates increase.Now let us analyse the various types of repayment schedules:Commercial mortgage equal payments:
In this repayment schedule, you need to make equal payments during each period, be it on a monthly or quarterly basis for a particular time period. With each payment, you cover the interest and the rest reduces the principal.Commercial mortgage equal payments plus final balloon payment:
Here, the borrower needs to make equal monthly payments of the principal and interest for a very short period of time. After paying the last installment, the remaining balance is required to be paid in one go which is known as a balloon payment. In case you are unable to make the balloon payment, you can refinance the mortgage to postpone the balloon.Commercial mortgage interest-only payments plus final balloon payment:
In this repayment schedule, the borrower covers only the interest with regular payments, while the principal amount remains the same. At the end of the mortgage term, the balloon payment must be paid to cover the entire principal and any remaining interest.Commercial endowment mortgage:
It is similar to an interest-only mortgage repayment schedule with the only difference of the repayment of the principal which comes from the proceeds of an endowment. Endowments can be in the form of life assurance policy, personal or executive pension plan policy, or a personal equity plan.No matter which of the above mentioned interest rates and repayment schedules suit your business profile, always bear in mind that the longer you take to pay back the principal, the higher your interest payout will be.It is advisable to take the help of specialists, who can help you to design the appropriate business strategy and a detailed plan of your business finances. There are various business finance companies that can help you to study and compare various lending institutions to help you do thorough homework before you finalise the lender from where you can apply for a commercial mortgage loan.
The BEST Supplements for Your Immune System
The Amazing Human Body The iImmune system is a truly amazing system. Research has revealed that it has a number of miracles that humans are unable to understand or replicate despite the advanced technology currently available.The body has about 100 trillion cells that make up all the organs, bones, muscles, tissue, eyes, skin and the other body components. About 8 million cells die every second and are replaced by new cells, constantly revitalising the body. These trillions of cells carry out millions, if not billions of complex activities every second of every moment of your life, regardless if you are awake or asleep. The body is an “electric machine” that triggers these activities primarily through enzymes that carry out complex chemical reactions which can identify and instantaneously communicate with, and control every single friendly cell in your body. This is far more powerful and intelligent than any known computer that exists today.The Miracle of the Immune SystemIf the human body didn’t have an “Immune System” we would have to permanently live in a germ-free sealed plastic tent, or we would die within a few days.No matter where you live, we are all surrounded and attacked by microorganisms or microforms. If these pathogenic microbes get into our bodies they create the ideal environment for disease. As Robert Young Ph.D. a leading microbiologist and nutritionist says, “We are living in a plague of “microforms” including yeasts, fungus and moulds as well as bacteria and viruses.” These microforms attack our cells and produce poisonous acidic waste in the body that affects healthy cells resulting in various diseases.So how does the body protect us from these foreign invaders and the resulting diseases? The Body’s “Defence Force”To help you understand the vast complexities of the amazing Miracle of the Immune System and the extraordinary events that take place continuously in our bodies, to prevent the invaders from causing disease, this short summary has simplified the complexities by likening the bodies “Immune System” to a well organised, mobile, extremely disciplined, highly intelligent and efficient “Defence Force.”The “Defence Force’s” mission is to protect the body at all times, by preventing invaders (antigens) from crossing the front line, or eliminating those that manage to get into the body.Invaders primarily enter the body through the food we eat, what we drink and what we breathe in, however they can also enter through the skin, eyes, ears, nose and mouth. This means that our “Defence Force” must be alert at all times, guarding all these and other areas of the body. It is estimated that there are about 1 trillion cells in the “Defence Force”.But where do the “Defence Force” warriors come from and how do they get trained to understand the difference between friendly cells and foreign invader cells that are harming the body?The Immune System “Production Centres”It all starts in the “Bone Marrow.” This factory continuously produces a variety of different cells from stem cells, all with their own specific roles and control mechanisms. These include the trillions of immune system “warriors” of which there are 2 main groups consisting of 8 main “fighting” groups. The first line of defence are the foot soldiers (phagocytes and macrophages), and the real fighting heroes are the B-Cells, T-Cells and Natural Killer (NK) Cells (lymphocytes).Then we have the “Training Academy.” The Thymus, perceived to be an unintelligent chunk of meat, which trains trillions of Immune Cells (lymphocytes), which are so small they are invisible to the naked eye, and have no known intelligence in them, to identify millions of different cell types and foreign invaders (antigens) in the body. What’s even more incredible, is that these cells can identify every friendly cell and the “identity” of each of the invaders, and create a specific weapon (antibody) to eliminate each specific invader. Then they store that information so that if ever that invader type is identified again it will immediately be wiped out. This is the reason you only get certain diseases once, like mumps, measles and chicken pox. Research has shown that the immune systems weapons factory (B Cells) can create and memorise over 1 million different antibodies for specific invaders. Where do they get this information from? – no one knows! Remember many of these cells only live for a short while, so this information has to be continually passed on to new cells. This is absolutely miraculous, as only “if” a cell has “consciousness”, “memory” and the power of “reasoning” can it be capable of processing and communicating this data. Man has not yet been able to fathom out how this works yet!Then there is the versatile Spleen. Bone marrow only comes into production once a baby is born, so to protect the baby from antigens while in the womb, the Spleen produces all of the required Immune warriors. Once the baby is born the Bone Marrow starts producing and the Spleen primarily controls the deployment of the Immune warriors to the various places that they continuously patrol, like the blood stream, Lymphatic system, salivary glands, joints and tonsils, looking to identify foreign invaders. If at any time there is an immune response that requires massive numbers of warriors, then the Spleen will help out and produce the additional warriors required. Imagine all of the instantaneous communications required between these millions of cells to control these immune responses and ensuing battles.Then the last production centre, but one of the most important and miraculous, is the Lymph Nodes. The Lymphatic System, a key part of the Immune System, is larger than the blood stream, with lymphatic vessels reaching all tissues and cells in every part of the body. The Lymphatic System has a “Police Force” patrolling the entire body, with a “Police Intelligence” group gathering and storing information about cells and invaders.The Lymph fluid continuously flows throughout the entire body and carries the “intelligence gatherers” who monitor everyone of the 100 trillion cells a few times a day, passing information back to the “Police Stations” (the Lymph Nodes). This information will be stored and the “police” will react to any alarm by producing the specific type of “Policemen” (immune warriors) required. This information will be immediately communicated to all the necessary fighting and support groups and the necessary warriors will be mobilised to the battlefield to eliminate the invaders, clean up the battlefield and normalise the body functions.The Ongoing War Against the Foreign EnemiesThe Immune Systems “Defence Force” is fully prepared and on duty protecting the body at all times. This entails six distinct planned and integrated stages that they continuously carry out to keep you healthy:• The establishment and maintenance of the “Defence Force”• The identification of the Enemy• Training and mobilising the various forces to the battlefield• Providing the Support Services to the forces• Communicating and recording all aspects of each battle• Clean up the Battlefields and Normalise all body functionsBoosting ImmunityYou now understand a little bit more about the amazing “Immune System” and how critical it is to have it performing at its peak at all times. But how do you achieve that?By adequately feeding your immune system with the right nutrients boosts its fighting power by increasing the number of troops in the Defence Force and ensuring that they are “battle ready” at all times.Natural Immune System SupplementsThere are a number of natural supplements to feed your Immune System that will ensure that your immune system and its amazing “Defence Force” continuously operate at their peak, protecting you from all possible invaders, keeping you healthy and disease free.Here are some of these natural supplements that you should be aware of:Fresh Organic Fruit and Vegetables and fresh juice – These natural foods provide anti-oxidants, Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes, Amino Acids and fibre that are excellent for boosting all aspects of the immune system
Vitamin C – this is the most effective Immune System booster and can be obtained from fruit and vegetables as well as supplements (suggest Green Drinks)
Vitamin E – an important anti-oxidant and immune booster that promotes the production of NK and B cells
Beta carotene – increases the production of NK and Helper T Cells and helps to mop up excess free radicals.
Bioflavonoids – this group of phytonutrients boosts the immune system by protecting the cell membranes against environmental pollutants.
Echinacea – one of the oldest and most effective healing herbs recognised more than a century ago as an amazing natural infection fighter. Echinacea stimulates the body to produce more T-Cells and NK cells while releasing interferon, one of the bodies most potent infection fighting weapons.
Zinc – this valuable mineral increases the production of white blood cells that fight infection and also increases killer cells that fight against cancer and helps white cells release more antibodies. Zinc also increases the number of infection-fighting T-cells, especially in elderly people who are often deficient in zinc
Probiotics – these are healthy immune boosting “Good” bacteria that live in our digestive system.
Garlic – this powerful immune boosting vegetable stimulates the production of infection-fighting white cells, boosts NK cell activity and increases antibody production.
Selenium- this important immune boosting mineral increases NK cells and mobilizes cancer-fighting cells.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – these essential fatty acids increase the immune boosting activities and help fighting bacteria.There are many commercial “Immune Booster” Supplements available, however the most effective include a combination of the supplements shown above and should have some of the following:Coriolus Versicolor
Selenium
Beta 1-3 Glucan
Echinacea
Olive Leaf Extract
Turmeric / Curcumin
Bilberry Extract
Quercitin.Things that Destroy the Immune SystemCertain foods and environmental influences can keep the immune system “Defence Force” from doing a good job. You should eliminate these threats to your body’s defence system.Sugar – consuming 100 grams of sugar or 2 cans of soda will immobilise your Immune System for four to six hours exposing you to invaders
Alcohol – excessive alcohol deprives the body of immune boosting nutrients, suppresses the ability of T cells to multiply and to kill invaders. Alcohol also inhibits the NK cells (natural killer) from tackling cancer cells and tumours.
Bad Fats. Saturated and Trans fats affect the ability of B Cells to multiply and produce antibodies (weapons) to eliminate invaders. It is important to note that the body needs “Essential Fats, like Omega fats to be healthy.
Coffee and Caffeine Drinks rob the body of vitamins and minerals that depress the immune SystemHealth and WellnessThis short explanation is a very simplified overview of the amazing “Immune System” and what you need to know to ensure that it is working at its peak at all times so that you can enjoy and live a long, healthy, happy and vibrant life with an abundance of energy and vitality, and the ability to perform mentally and physically with emotional balance and the lack of disease.
Two Tier Education System For Higher Technical Education in India
IntroductionWith ever increasing use of technology and the internet in India and ever growing demand and need for expanding the coverage of Higher Technical Education there is a wide scope of introducing technology in the way the Higher Technical Education is imparted in India. In today’s environment mostly the methods employed are labor intensive, limited to class room interaction, access to which is not available to students in the event of they missing out the classes due to certain reasons. In addition there are difficulties in explaining and demonstrating the complex subjects involving three dimensional figures/models. More over it is an accepted fact that it is difficult for the students to concentrate on a subject in a typical classroom environment for more than about 20 minutes. The best of students have often been found to be losing concentration after about 20 minutes of classroom teaching which mostly becomes monotonous in traditional class where teacher mostly resorts to one way transmission without initiating interactive discussion. Though interactive sessions offer little improvement but it is not always possible to initiate the interaction till the time the students have developed certain level of understanding of basic concepts and fully understand the prerequisite required for a typical course.BackgroundIn order to improve teaching learning process it is important that we go beyond the boundaries of classroom and fixed timetable limits. The teaching material must be delivered to the student at a time, pace and place which provides best learning environment for him. This may have lot of variation depending on individual students needs. The EDUSAT program launched at the initiative of the government has also not achieved the desired success though large numbers of terminals have been established all over India and best of Professors are delivering lectures in real time environment. The root cause of failure can be attributed to the fact that it is still not getting out of a typical class room environment. Though virtual classrooms have been created but still it is limited to formalities of a classroom.Use of technology in improving the teaching learning process normally termed as Educational Technology – also known variously as e-learning, instructional technology and learning technology – is the use of technology to support the enhancement of learning process. It impacts upon the learning process, e.g. in delivering learning materials, facilitating communication and providing assessment and feedback. This technology can effectively be used to enhance and supplement the classroom teaching wherein the material is once again made available to the student at a time, pace and place that is best suitable for his needs. It will fill in the blanks which he must have drawn while he was in the classroom and could not clarify his concepts due to certain reasons. More ever certain other things like tutorials, tests, assignments etc can also handled effectively on line thereby saving the valuable time of the competent faculty members which can be used for other more useful activities.Course management systems (CMSs), which are online systems, were designed and developed to support classroom learning in academic settings, such as universities and other Educational Institutes. CMSs provide instructors with the ability to perform the following tasks:• Place course materials online. Most CMSs provide pre-programmed buttons for the course syllabus, course schedule, and course materials linked to specific lessons, such as copies of readings and PowerPoint slides from lectures.• Track student progress through assessment features, which enable instructors to give quizzes and tests online, and an online grade book, where instructors can post student grades.• Discussion board, where instructors and students can discuss readings and continue class discussions between formal class sessions.• Other communications tools, which let instructors send announcements to classes and communicate individually with students.• Lock box for students, where students can store class materials in a safe place-either a presentation to give later in class or backing up class assignments in a safe place.• Course statistics, which provide information on the use of the course site, including who used the course site and when.• Examples of CMSs include the commercial products Blackboard and WebCT, and the open source system like Moodle.MotivationWith ever increasing need for automation in the education system and the Government having decided to go for decentralization in Higher Technical Education in a big way there has been mushrooming growth of Engineering Institutions all over India. Good faculty members with thorough understanding of basic through advanced topics are difficult to find. With the current system of the faculty resources being utilized only for the benefit of the students enrolled with the Institute/University employing the concerned faculty, the scarce resources are not being utilized optimally. With the current developments and availability of Information Technology tools it may be possible to share the rich experiences of the distinguished faculty resources of certain key institutions in a typical University by other inexperienced faculty members of the same university engaged in teaching similar or same subjects.The basic idea will be to introduce two tier system in the higher technical education. The first tier will involve a continuous and consistent effort made to train and educate the fresh and inexperienced faculty members by using real time interaction with a group of experienced faculty members located at a center of excellence. This will involve creation of a “Nodal Center of Excellence” for each of the course being offered by the university. Such nodal center will design and develop a course by using the best suitable and simple to operate tools available in course management systems to perfection. This course will compulsorily be subscribed to by all faculty members engaged in teaching same course all throughout the University. They can share the expertise available at the nodal center and also clarify the intricacies of the subjects on a day to day basis as the course advances in the semester.The second tier of the system will involve Individual teachers who are already subscribed to the first tier discussed above. Such teachers will run their own course management systems for the benefit of the students attending their lectures.In this manner all the center of excellence established everywhere can be shared by all the institutes affiliated to the university and also the university campus colleges. This will result in:-• Uniformity in the coverage of the syllabus and its standardization.• Discovering the shortcoming of the syllabus and a common platform for discussing the same for future revision.• Clarification of the basic through advanced concepts through the chatting/tools offered by concerned selected service of the CMS.• Standardization and sharing of the grading and assessment of the students without significant variation form teacher to teacher.• Moderation of the grading centrally.• Readily available standardized course material which can be developed by networking of teachers sharing same subject in the university but at different institutions.• Standardization of reference books and the topics to be covered.• Standardization of the depth of individual topics to be covered for each subject.• Typical standardization of question bank.• Development of reference standard study material at the center of excellence which can be shared by all other institutions.• Automation of tutorial submission, FAQ answers, question paper generation, and response to earlier similar question asked.• Provision of authenticated links to related and useful material for further higher study for research.The System can be Implemented in these steps:Conceive, design and develop a two tier education system based on nodal concept of center of excellence in Engineering Education (Higher technical education) typical to Indian Universities by selecting the best suitable tools offered by Course Management Systems (CMS) available and demonstrate the viability of the concept.(1) Step one:(a) Identify the essential and desirable features which should be offered by the nodal center of excellence, in typical Indian University environment, to make it effective in sharing and updating its resources.(b) Carry out comparative study of the available course management systems world wide and selecting the best suitable system for this purpose.(2) Step Two: Developing a comprehensive module in selected course which should preferably support following features:-(a) Learning Tools• Book marking• Student Area• Library and Information Access• Annotation• Glossary• Course Index/Search Engine• Learning Exemplars/Guidance• Access to Grades• Student Guide• Self-Assessment Exercises• Study Skill Building• Student Web Pages(b) Collaboration Tools• Discussion Options• File Sharing• Work Group Areas(c)Faculty Tools• Course Planning, Design, Templates• Automated Glossary• Automated Course TOC/Index/Search Engine• File Management• Instructor Guide/Course Exemplars• Web Search Tools• Multimedia Capability(d)Course Management• Course Pages• Student Management• Automatic student assignment reminders (currently none of the CMS offer this currently)• Course Archive/Backup/Replication• Course Revision• Online Help/FAQs• Administration Tools• Automated Registration• Security• Student Transcript(3) Step Three: Implementing the nodal concept of center of excellence in real time and initiate the process for demonstration purposes.Milestones completedNodal concept has widely been applied in service, telecommunication and repair & maintenance industry wherein certain nodal centers are created with all the facilities and expertise available at easily accessible place which can be accessed by the prospective customers. In telecommunications wherein certain communication nodes are created and users can hook on to these nodes for getting the desired services. In education system the concept has widely been applied in various admission management systems and placement services.The concept of creating the Nodal center of excellence has been experimented in India by EDUSAT which is based on real time lectures in virtual classroom environment. However it has not invoked much enthusiasm. The root cause for this can be attributed to the fact that the lecture tends to be monologue and is not at a place, pace and time as may be required by the perspective learner. More over it lacks personal contact between the teacher and the students. The proposed two tier system of education involving nodal concept is intended to supplement the classroom teaching. It will be designed to optimize the contact time between the teacher and students in a way that the most important tings are attended to during the contact period and things of lesser importance can be attended to by the course management system like tutorials, class tests, assignments etc.This concept can be related to the service industry where in a nodal point, which can be termed as centre of excellence, is established which caters to the training needs of service engineers who are placed all over the operational areas. These service engineers in turn provide service to the customers. In case they find they are not able to address the problem they consult the nodal point for further advice. Almost same concept is applied in case of maintenance support provided by most of the companies for maintenance cover provided to their customers.The defense forces are known to have been using multi tier system for their training, maintenance and repair needs, though their system is not automated but the nodal concept is well established. In the proposed system we intend to use the two tier system with automation by using Course Management Systems.