Zabara while watching his wife use breathing techniques to control her labor pains during the birth of their first child in 1971 realized that the one-way theory might be wrong.

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"There's only so much swelling brain can tolerate until there's pressure on the nerves that control breathing and circulation, " said Dr. Roger Bonomo, director of stroke care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

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He enriched the oxygen or the carbon dioxide in the air breathed by experimental subjects and found not a hint of suppression or exacerbation of yawning compared with control subjects breathing normal air.

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Disciplines like yoga, tai chi, and even stretching exercises all require the consciousness and control of our breathing in conjunction with moving our bodies.

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Also, if other operations are needed in the near future, breathing difficulties need to be under control.

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Severe respiratory failure may require insertion of a tube into the trachea (intubation) to assist the child's breathing until the infection is brought under control.

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The authority's planning advisory panel said such a figure would help restrict "out-of-control development" and give communities "breathing space".

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The Budget Control Act of 2011 was intended to provide breathing space and to buy time.

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On Monday, Sterlite said the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had ordered it shut after locals complained of breathing problems.

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His lung infection was "under control" and his condition was developing favourably, although he still needed help breathing, a statement said.

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