The Guest Editors The Guest Editors J-F. Muir is a Professor of Pulmonology and Head of both the Respiratory Diseases Dept and Respiratory Intensive Care unit at the Rouen University Hospital, France. He has a special interest in acute and chronic mechanical ventilation and sleep studies. N. Ambrosino's research activity has been devoted to: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respi- ratory critical care, pulmonary rehabilitation and home respiratory care. He has also contributed to the development of the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation techniques in acute and chronic respiratory failure with several clinical trials and original experimental studies. He was the former head of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Working Group of the European Respiratory Society, and he currently sits on the editorial boards of several international journals. A.K. Simonds is a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital, London. She runs the Home Ventilation service for adults and children and has a long term clinical and research interest in acute and chronic: noninvasive ventilation, new ventilatory modes, neuromuscular disor- ders, sleep disordered breathing, endstage lung disease, palliative care and ethics. J-F. Muir A.K. Simonds N. Ambrosino Mono 41 CV.qxd 02/12/2008 15:27 Page 1