[Non-invasive ventilation support in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)].

Aim: To verify that the use of noninvasive ventilatory support in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease leads to decreasing the number of deaths, shortening in-hospital stay and decreasing number of endotracheal intubations (ETI).

Setting: The study was conducted at a respiratory department's ICU in 2002-2004.

Methods: Patients hospitalized on ICU with acute exacerbation of COPD, respiratory acidosis and global respiratory failure were randomised into two groups.

Performances of three R-AN-D-N wastewater treatment plants in the Czech Republic.

The evolution of Czech standards requires higher efficiency of nutrient removal from municipal wastewaters. At the beginning of the last decade of 20th century, a new activated sludge configuration called R-AN-D-N process has been described, successfully tested and now largely used at several wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the Czech republic. The main feature of the R-AN-D-N process is the introduction of a regeneration zone in sludge recycle, which enables to increase sludge age in the system without any substantial increase in WWTP volume.