Heart-valve replacement surgery in USA - $200,000

Heart-valve replacement surgery in India - $10,000

Dental bridge in USA - $5,500

Dental bridge in India - $500

The numbers speak for themselves. Little wonder that over 50,000 Americans traveled to countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for medical treatment in 2006. But when it comes to your body, cost isn’t the only deciding factor…quality is the main rider. So, is the quality of care in these developing nations on par with hospitals in USA and UK?

The answer gladly is a big YES. Hospitals that cater to the medical tourists from the western countries are among the best in the world in terms of infrastructure and medical care. They are on par with their western counterparts in terms of technology. Take the case of Apollo Hospitals in India. They have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American International Medical University (AIMU) for developing a super specialty teaching hospital, research, and treatment facility for the AIMU group. Apollo will develop, manage, and monitor the healthcare facilities at the existing AIMU group’s medical education facilities at the Bahamas and St Lucia campuses. That’s how far ahead a hospital in India is, when it comes to technology and trained manpower. Moreover, most of these bodies have earned accreditation from universally acknowledged bodies, meaning international standards of quality in healthcare.

Doctors in these countries are as qualified and as skilled as their western counterparts. This is because a majority of doctors working in these hospitals have been trained in hospitals in USA and UK or have done their higher studies in these countries. For example, Bangkok’s Bumrundgrad hospital has more than 200 surgeons who are board-certified in the United States. The Escorts Heart Institute and Research Center in India, performs nearly 15,000 heart operations every year. The death rate among patients during surgery is only 0.8 percent-less than half that of most major hospitals in the United States.

The number of registered nurses in these countries is far greater than in USA. And some hospitals even offer a 24/7 nurse-on-call for each individual patient. So, the care you get is much better than what you might expect in an American hospital.

Vikas Sah is an internet marketing professional. Medical Tourism in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vikas_Sah

Drugs and medications for acid reflux, also known as gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), are readily available. They are to be seen in adverts, some medications are sold over the counter, and most doctors are happy to prescribe them on a promise of immediate termination of the crippling pain of acid reflux. After all that, you are surely asking yourself of medications for GERD are in any way effective when it is a matter of fixing the real cause of your condition and if the temporary respite justifies the side effects.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease comes about when the valve in the esophagus (the LES or lower esophageal sphincter) becomes weak and instead of acting one-way, lets stomach content flow back into the esophagus. Usually, after glutition, the LES opens to let food into the stomach before closing to prevent acid from returning into the esophagus. The backward flow of acid coming is often noticed as a burning sensation that is called heartburn. Therefore, acid reflux patients often experience a particular burning feeling under the breastbone, often coming at night.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease that is frequent and comes with one of its common symptoms of heartburn can be distressing and painful enough to impinge on your daily activities and severely damage the esophagus. GERD that is neglected can badly attack the esophagus lining making for inflammation of long duration, leading even to cancer of the esophagus. GERD is clearly a dangerous condition requiring immediate diagnosis and intervention.

Although seeming to be the most readily available cure for acid reflux, medication is not necessarily the most effective. There are four major groups of medications for treating GERD:

1. Antacids are available in a variety of forms: liquid to drink, tablets to chew, chewing gum itself and so on. Their effect is from neutralizing acid in the esophagus and lasts for up to a few hours.

2. Alginates encapsulate stomach contents and reduce reflux.

3. H2-receptor antagonists arrest your gastric system by pretending to produce stomach acid. Beginning 30 to 60 minutes after you take them, their effect lasts up to 12 hours.

4. PPI (Proton pump inhibitors) act as an obstacle to the cells in the stomach that produce the stomach acid.

There is variation in the way in which these medicaments work, as well as the duration and the effect. Nonetheless, they all have a common element:

1. Their effect is temporary. Most medicaments are targeted at treating the immediate short-term causes of gastroesophageal reflux disease, when this medical condition is more complicated, being created by a group of factors of the environment, lifestyle and diet. So the medicaments only bring temporary relief, ignoring the real causes of the disease.

2. Using these drugs for a long duration can produce multiple side effects. Prolonged usage of antacids can worsen the damage from long duration GERD: gastric acid is necessary for good digestion and immunity and continually ingesting antacid interferes with these processes. PPI therapy usually does more good than harm for side effects. Its most frequent side effects including serious headaches and diarrhea, PPI have also been associated with osteoporosis.

Medication therapy for acid reflux is based on the classical approach that compared to the holistic approach does not look after the body while eradicating the symptoms of the disease. For this reason, most medications for GERD will not do more than give temporary relief amidst a host of side effects. On the other hand, alternative treatments such as homeopathic solutions, herbal remedies, changes in lifestyle and diet, and detoxification, will solve the internal cause of acid reflux to safely and effectively stop it from happening again.

Jeff Martin is a medical researcher, certified nutritionist, health consultant and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Heartburn No More- Open The Door To an Acid Reflux Free Life”. Jeff has written dozens of holistic health articles and has been featured in ezines and print magazines, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.

To Learn More About Jeff Martin´s Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Heartburn No More.

For further information visit: Acid Reflux Medication

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Martin

Baxter International issued a recall notice for its blood thinning drug heparin in February 2008 after it was linked to hundreds of cases of allergic reactions in the United States. According to reports by the Food and Drug Administration, there have been at least 785 cases of serious injury reported among heparin users, including at least 19 deaths.

The Food and Drug Administration is currently conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the outbreak of allergic reactions among patients taking heparin. The investigation has revealed that as much as 20% of the heparin in the vials produced by Baxter is actually an unknown contaminant which was undetectable by regular tests.

Heparin is a blood thinning drug that is used during heart bypass surgery or kidney dialysis. About half of the heparin that is used in the U.S. is manufactured by Baxter. The active ingredient in the drug is manufactured using an enzyme found in pig intestines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA began receiving reports of a high number of allergic reactions among patients taking heparin beginning in January 2008. A subsequent investigation revealed that reports of heparin side effects had risen to more than 30 times their normal level over the course of just a few months. Symptoms reported by patients included difficulty breathing, vomiting, nausea, elevated heart rate and a rapid drop in blood pressure which can be fatal.

Baxter was forced to issue its first heparin recall soon afterward when the allergic reaction outbreak with linked with nine lot numbers of the heparin it manufactures. After the FDA began to tie reports of heparin side effects to lot numbers beyond those that were initially pulled, Baxter was forced to issue a complete heparin recall.

Health authorities in both Germany and Japan have also called for heparin recalls in the weeks since the outbreak of allergic reactions was first reported in the U.S. Although Japanese officials say that their recall is only a precautionary measure, at least 80 cases of allergic reactions associated with heparin have already been reported in Germany. Even more disturbingly, these heparin side effects reports concerned vials that were not manufactured by Baxter, raising the prospect that the problems with the drug could have an even large scope than was initially estimated.

The FDA is investigating the Chinese plant where the active ingredient in heparin is manufactured to determine the source of the heparin contamination. Some experts have raised the possibility that this ingredient could have been mixed with the contaminant discovered by researchers in an attempt to boost production. The FDA is also investigating whether a recent outbreak of illnesses among Chinese pig, or the use of “crude heparin” produced by on some farms by untrained workers could also be the cause of the contamination.

The heparin allergic reactions outbreak has renewed concerns about the safety of importing Chinese-manufactured drug into the U.S. “I don’t think the pharmaceutical industry knows what it’s doing in China, and I don’t think the U.S. government knows what it’s doing in China,” says Michael Santoro, a business expert who has written about the relationship between the drug industry and China.

The law firm of Hissey Kientz, LLP is currently accepting cases involving people affected by mesothelioma, AMO Complete, ReNu with MoistureLoc, Medtronic defibrillator lead wires, Fosamax, Zelnorm, heart devices, the Kugel hernia patch, hormone replacement therapy, FELA railroad accidents, SUV rollovers and other injuries or defective drugs. To learn more about the firm and other drug cases, visit our website or call toll-free at (866) 275-4454.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hissey_Kientz

A sinus is a cavity in the bones near the nose. The function of these sinuses is to evacuate mucus and air from the nasal membrane. An inflammation of the sinuses leads to trapping of this mucus and dry air inside the sinuses. This causes excruciating pain. Sinus infection medication provides a relief from this pain.

The sinus infections are classified into three categories on the basis of the duration of the illness. Acute sinus infection lasts for approximately three weeks. Chronic sinus infection is the one that lasts from anywhere between three to eight weeks. Recurring sinus infections are the ones occurring frequently over time.

The sinus infection medication depends on the category or type of infection. Acute sinus infections can be cured with home remedies whereas chronic infections demand a prolonged treatment as the symptoms last for a longer duration of time.

The home remedies for treating sinus infection, though do not cure the disease, but are effective in relieving the pain. Inhaling the steam from a vaporizer is perhaps one of the best home medication for sinus infections. Placing a hot cloth over the inflamed area of the face also provides relief.

In addition to these, intake of jalapeño peppers and ripe grapes’ juice is also effective. Relief can also be obtained by applying a paste of cinnamon with water, or ginger with milk or water. The steam of eucalyptus oil, hen inhaled, proves an effective treatment for sinus infection. Intake of warm fluids should be increased to allow the trappings in sinuses to open.

Sinus infection medication is prescribed on the basis of the root cause of the infection. At times, diseases like asthma, HIV, cystic fibrosis and certain allergies cause sinusitis. In these cases, before treating the sinusitis, these ailments need to be treated.

Other treatments for sinus infection include decongestants, nasal sprays, antibiotics and pain killers. Because of the side effects, steroids are not prescribed. If the infection is not cured by any of the above mentioned treatments, an endoscopic surgery is resorted to for widening the openings of sinuses.

Thus, various sinus infection medications are available. The only thing that needs to be taken care of while selecting the treatment is the nature, duration and cause of the infection.

Have you given your life completely to sinusitis infection; thinking there is no way out? Get your Sinus Treatment and Sinus Home Remedies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Bartin

You have a headache and it’s a severe headache, so severe that you can’t function. You decide to take two Tylenol (650 mg). Two hours later you feel a little better but the pain is still severe enough to keep you from your daily tasks. The directions on the bottle read take 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours, so you’re probably thinking taking two tablets a couple of hours early shouldn’t hurt anything, and your headache is about to get the best of you. You think about it for another minute or two and then decide to take an additional two tablets. Is there anything wrong with what you just did? Perhaps you rationalize it by saying that taking two more tablets equaled about 1300 mg which is probably prescription strength (a doctor would have prescribed this), and taking the additional two tablets did alleviate the pain; the headache is gone! You actually feel better and can function. But the truth is without the advice of a physician you should never exceed the recommended dose of any over the counter medication, particularly Tylenol.

Tylenol, a common and popular medication, is made of acetaminophen a pharmaceutical analgesic and antipyretic agent. It is the most widely used analgesic in the United States; used primarily for the relief of fever and other minor aches and pains. Access to acetaminophen is quite easy and because of this there is a huge potential for overdose and toxicity.

This may be surprising to learn, but acetaminophen toxicity is by far the most common cause of acute liver failure in both the United States and the United Kingdom. There are two reasons for this: (1) Widespread availability and (2) people underestimate the potential for toxicity.

The recommended dose for Tylenol is 325 - 650 mg every four to six hours. In adults the minimum toxic dose of acetaminophen for a single ingestion is 7.5 to 10 grams. Which means it would take the ingestion of 7,500 mg to 10,000 mg to be toxic. The half life of Tylenol is about four hours, but the concentration is peaked (at its fullest potential) two hours after ingestion. So though you may feel no relief in two hours the medication is still in your system.

You’re probably saying “well that could never happen to me. I could never ingest that much medication without realizing it.” Well…. it doesn’t take long to develop a tolerance for medication. Also In just a two hour period our above scenario had you ingesting 1300 mg. What if there was no relief after taking the 1300 mg? How long would you wait before taking an additional two tablets or more? Granted this is just a case scenario, but it does happen.

The thing to note here is that when you’re in pain you just want to feel better and when you’re in severe pain it’s hard to maintain the proper perspective. This is how so many people have gone into acetaminophen toxicity and liver failure.

Signs of acetaminophen toxicity include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, malaise (a feeling of general discomfort), and diaphoresis (increased perspiration). More severe symptoms may include right upper quadrant pain and tenderness liver enlargement and decreased urinary output. Once hepatic failure (liver failure) has occured there is jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), renal failure, bleeding, encephalopathy (disease of the brain) and cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle), which could lead to death.

Never underestimate the potency of any drug with acetaminophen in it, and always follow the directions as given. If over the counter analgesics aren’t enough to relieve your pain seek the advice of a physician for something stronger and don’t exceed the recommended dose. If you are taking Tylenol or any analgesic at home document the dose taken and the time on a medication log. This will help you to better remember not to overlap your dosage times. If you have developed a dependency please seek help.

Here is a number that you can call. 1-800-662-HELP or visit the website http://www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov

Doing these things could protect your liver and your life.

REFERENCES:

Wilkiperdia : http://en.wilkipedia.org/wilki/Acetamenophen

Emedicine : Toxicity, Acetamenophen - Germaine L Defendi, MD, MS, FAAP

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic7.htm

Sharon Rowe has been a registered nurse for over ten years. She presently operates her own online health form business. She noticed during her years in nursing the growing need for a development of health forms to be used primarily for in home use. Visit her at http://www.yourmedform.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Rowe

Medicating our kids seems to be more and more recommended by the medical community. First we have epidurals, which is getting drugs into the baby within 18 seconds and is essentially putting drugs into a new baby. We know these babies feel it because for 2 weeks following the birth they sleep off the drugs, then they wake up and are crying and screaming over how badly most of the time and then they are diagnosed with “colic”. The truth is that they were drugged and their pure bodies are feeling the repercussions of having had the drugs.

Next, are the vaccines. Years ago it was about the 6th month of infancy that the first immunizations were given, but today, these babies cannot leave the hospital without the Hepatitis B vaccine. More intervention of toxic elements, one of which is mercury which does not leave the body and can deposit into the brain, spinal cord and organs of the body, causing neuroexcitation.

After that we have antibiotics, which most children have experienced and taken before age 2. After that we have Cherry Flavored Prozac, Ritalin and Adderol for hyperactivity behaviors. These poor kids by the time they are 12 have had more medication than I have personally had in my whole lifetime!

Now, if you read the HAO October newsletter, the medical profession is recommending weight loss drugs and cardiac drugs for weight loss, for children from the ages of 12-16 years old. Some of the side effects are suicidal thoughts and depression. That is all these kids need is more chemicals that will help them become more suicidal and more depressed. As these kids don’t have enough of that with all the hormonal changes and adolescence taking place! As it is now, suicide is very high amongst teens.

I am writing this because enough is enough, and I am very alarmed and concerned. Children need to be supplemented with food supplementation from the time they are born, with mom taking it and it going through the breast milk and then starting the kids on a program as soon as the child can eat foods. As soon as they are born, they need a chiropractic adjustment, and they must have good, fresh food and NO FASTFOOD! Driving through a fast food restaurant to give our children a “happy meal” is the equivalent to poisoning them! We need to all eat at home and NOT out!

In my opinion, these kids are being drugged to death. All we have to do is give the children the nutrients that are missing in our diets, proven by science and the government. These would be vitamins/minerals, phytochemicals, phytosterols, and glyconutrients.

Join Dr. Vicky’s Educational Forum on http://www.healthyanswersonline.com and receive your weekly tips, monthly newsletters and conference calls. As a new member, you can also “ASK DR VICKY” an online question that may be included in your upcoming FREE teleconference call. Topic for this month is: “Pregnancy, Newborns & Pediatrics.”

http://www.healthyanswersonline.com is one of the only websites of its kind that provides the nutritional secrets, suggestions and the latest information and technology available to maximize health and eliminate the common discomforts of the woman during pregnancy and improving the outcomes of she and her unborn baby. The site also addresses newborns, babies, kids, children, parents, fertility, labor and delivery, post-partum and breast feeding.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Vicky_Arcadi

Why It Has Been Widely Accepted?

1) People Are More Health Conscious

We have heard so many stories on the news channels about how bad it is if aspirin is being to relief pain. Even though the stories are directed only to some cases, big number of people have switched their preference over to non-aspirin pain relief. The reason they give for the switch is they hope to ensure that they are doing everything they can to keep themselves healthy and drug free.

2) It Is Not Overly Expensive

Many of the non-aspirin pain relief products are pretty reasonable and they can easily been found right in the same area as the aspirin products are. What you have to do is simply read the fine print to see which is which as they often have bottles and boxes that are quite similar and don’t be surprise because they are often than not made by the same companies.

3) Conflicting On The Use of Aspirin

Pros

However it is just like anything else, there will be pros and cons to everything. To some people they argue that aspirin products help them keep clear of heart attacks and as such they therefore would never ever want to use non-aspirin pain relief products.

Cons

Indeed, it all relies on your personal beliefs and desires as there will always be something that can be said about a medication because they are actually foreign substances being put into our bodies. To be blunt it is just like poking poison into your bodies. The effects generally can also relies on your age as a lot of people fear that if a small child is given anything but non-aspirin pain relief, they could encounter very bad effects.

Usage Information

No matter what any other type of medications you are taking , you must habitually follow the direction precisely in order to ward off yourself from being in any danger. You must be in the habit of checking the warning label on the non-aspirin pain relief medication in order to be sure that there will not be any dreadful side effects that could cause you a lot of pain and possibly permanent damage, if you are on other prescribed or non-prescribed medications. There is a lot of information that you can easily obtained on the box or bottle information.

A word of caution, if you are going to add any medication to your daily routine you are always better off get a consultation from your doctor. Don’t take it for granted because if you wrongly mix the medications, together with a seemingly innocent dose of non-aspirin pain relief, the mixed medication may cause serious and most often life threatening consequences.

Even though the medication looks to be harmless, you just can never be too safe so check with your doctor first because they are just one phone call away and it is always better to be safe than sorry. Do not let your ignorance and lack of preparation being the reason why you have become even more ill.

If you are interested to know To know more about Non-Aspirin Pain Relief, click here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fatima_Edris

Osteopathic medical transcription is a specialty transcription that is fast growing. This is because there is a rising demand for preventive healthcare and people prefer a holistic approach to medicine in the world today. But, often we find that there is always confusion among the common people about the differences between allopathic, osteopathic and chiropractic practices. This is because of the differences between osteopathy and chiropractic systems can be very subtle. An increase in the demand for osteopathy medical transcription will see many medical transcriptionists specializing in osteopathy.

There are similarities and differences between the osteopathy and chiropractic professions. While Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that focuses on the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease, Chiropractic practices is a complementary and alternative medicine health care profession that focuses on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the functions of the nervous system and general health. Chiropractors usually rely much on x-rays for diagnosis and manipulations of bones, but the Osteopaths do not order for x-rays unless they are clinically indicated. This greatly reduces a person’s exposure to harmful radiation. Osteopathic medicine in the American medical care system is more holistic. It was started in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O. Take a look at the website of the American Osteopathic Association http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm

Naturopathic osteopathy is a sub division that tries to understand the patient’s symptoms not only from physical factors but also, if relevant, also from emotional and/or nutritional factors. This system believes that health derives from a balance between the three fundamental factors i.e., the physical, emotional, and the biochemical.

In the United States, an osteopath (or an osteopathic physician) must be a graduate of one of the nation’s osteopathic medical schools. Each school is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association and has recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. Thus Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) are fully licensed medical physicians and surgeons and do practice all clinical specialties along with their M.D. colleagues. However, they are trained to be generalists first, and specialists second. Osteopaths being one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare professionals in the United States, it is estimated that, by 2020 at least 100,000 osteopathic physicians will be in active medical practice.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is practiced by osteopathic physicians and involves the use of hands to diagnose illness and injury and encourages the body’s natural tendency toward good health. Along with all other available medical options, Osteopathy physicians are able to offer the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.And this means more and more transcriptionists will choose to specialize in Osteopathy.

The author of this article is Ricci Mathew of Outsource Strategies International (OSI), a US based company that offers services in Medical Coding, Medical Billing, Medical Transcription for clients across the US.

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Medical Transcription is not a cottage industry anymore as it used to be a few years ago. Digitization in this sector has changed the scenario and the work environment. Earlier, I remember the days when Medical Transcriptionists (MT) had to take trips every week to the client offices for audio tape pickups and delivery of work. TASP stands for Transcription Application Service Providers. Today there are many web based application service provider platforms that caters to different types of large, medium, small and also individual home based MTSOs (Medical Transcription Service Organizations).

The TASP type of files routing system is very efficient. It manages the entire process or life cycle of the document, right from the time of dictation at the hospital / physician’s location to sending it for transcription/editing to the MT and back to the medical professional. This type of system does save a lot of time and money when compared to the earlier transcription methods. There are dial in systems that take dictations. Playback happens when the residing codec (analog to digital converter) creates a digital sound file that the medical transcriptionist can playback and transcribe.

What are the benefits of going for such a digital technology for these transcription companies? Well it includes,

It has been known that there are visually impaired transcriptionists who can quite effectively use TASP software during medical transcription. There are many companies that have come out with TASP software that are available online. Here are some of the features of such TASP software:

Online transmission of files in a TASP is always done by encryption of all files using 128 bit encryption making it totally safe and secure. One of the biggest advantages of TASP is the fact that clients do not have to invest on any kind of infrastructure at all because all that is required is an online connection and a computer for operation.

The author of this article is Ricci Mathew of Outsource Strategies International (OSI), a US based company that offers services in Medical Coding, Medical Billing, Medical Transcription for clients across the US.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew

Only when insurance claims get held up or denied, do the billing staffs try to trace out what went wrong. And then they realize that there has been some thing they have overlooked, a mistake that should have been corrected during the medical billing process itself. With the high cost of health care in the USA medical billing errors have often created situations that make some unfortunate client get wrong bills and makes him pay up more than he needs to. If in such situations the client does not have the necessary insurance documents in order, his condition becomes pitiable.

Tracking of billing mistakes is not always easy even for the billing professionals and is an assured impossibility for the naïve client/patient with not much technical knowledge about it. Quite often we have come across many a people wondering as to why a simple surgery did cost them a fortune. It is for the health care professionals to avoid such common billing mistakes which often amounts to just carelessness and could be caused by a flaw in the internal communication process. Here is a list of the most common billing mistakes that often becomes the cause for a delay or denial of the insurance claim / bill reimbursement.

• Wrong patient identification number
• Wrong ICD-9-CM code with out fourth / fifth digits when required
• Duplicate claim
• Wrong date of service
• Wrong rates charged
• Procedure of claim not fully furnished by the other party
• No match between the ICD-9-CM code and CPT code
• Physician’s ID not available
• Billing for more Operating room time than used
• Type of service code not mentioned
• Billed for cancelled services / tests
• Bill amount totaling mistake
• Treatment/service provided was not validated
• Service/treatment given in an invalid center/place of service
• Service was not a medical necessity
• Place of service code not mentioned

Some of the suggestions given to reduce medical billings in physician offices include, having an auditor who is well-schooled in medical policy and terminology. Errors should be corrected immediately when found out and care must be taken to remember not to repeat the same mistakes again. It is always right to report an error to the government authorities even though one can be fined for it.

The author of this article is Ricci Mathew of Outsource Strategies International (OSI), a US based company that offers services in Medical Coding, Medical Billing, Medical Transcription for clients across the US.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ricci_Mathew