Math and other tutorials

* Khan Academy (lots of math learning! tons of videos!)
=> http://www.khanacademy.org/
Also Banking, Biology, Finance, History...

* A First Course in Linear Algebra
==> http://linear.ups.edu/

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Postural Drainage

For draining mucous from the lungs:

==> http://www.whitnashmc.co.uk/postural_drainage.htm
From Whitnash Medical Centre, Whitnash, U.K.
Reproduced below for convenience:

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Postural Drainage & Bronchiectasis

* Bronchiectasis
Many people who have had pneumonia, whooping cough or asthma in the past may develop damage to parts of their lungs involving the airways. This damage is called bronchiectasis and its main problem is that is causes impairment of the transport of mucus from the bottom of the lungs up into the throat.

The lungs produce mucus every day and this is used for cleaning the airways. During an infection mucus production increases tremendously. Normally this mucus is transported from the base of the lungs to the throat by tiny cells lining the major airways. If a patient has bronchiectasis this transport mechanism is broken in some places and so the mucus pools in the lungs. This causes breathlessness, coughing and often productive sputum when coughing.

The upper part of the lungs will drain naturally by gravity but the lower parts can't if this transport mechanism is broken and so patients with bronchiectasis need to help this process along. This is done with postural drainage.

* Postural Drainage

Postural drainage should be carried out once, twice or three times a day depending on the severity of symptoms and this will be advised by your doctor.

To do postural drainage you simply have to lie on your side on a bed right side uppermost. Gently tap the right uppermost part of your chest wall and then do something called huffing. Huffing is breathing out as far as you possibly can until you hear a wheeze and then you will cough. What you cough should be spat out.

When you have done this a couple of times turn over and lie so that your left side is uppermost and repeat the tapping and huffing on that side.

When you have done both sides, roll over onto your stomach so that your shoulders are lower than your hips, maybe a pillow underneath your hips will help here, and then do some huffing alone.

These exercises will clear the left lower side, the right lower side and the bases of your lungs.

Once your lungs are clear, medication that you may have been prescribed (like inhalers) can reach the parts of the lungs which they are meant to. If medication is taken before postural drainage occurs they hit a brick wall of mucous and are ineffective.

* Important points

Don't tap hard.

Don't be discouraged if it makes you cough. It's meant to.

Over a period of a few weeks your lungs will dry up a lot and the frequency of the need to drain will decrease. Your GP will advise you about this.

Persist as postural drainage is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your lung function and your lifestyle if you have bronchiectasis.

Postural drainage is also very useful if you have asthma and a chest infection.

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Learn Math online with AcroTeX (Univ of Akron, D.P. Story)

==> http://www.math.uakron.edu/~dpstory/acrotex.html

(PDF lessons for Calculus, Algebra Review,
off-site links to online lessons on Trigonometry, Micro-economics, Complex Analysis... )

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