About the Authors

Contributors

About the Authors

Contributors

Guest Editorial: Situational awareness of integrated energy systems

Purpose The following article is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business, and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD and inventor regarding his pioneering efforts and the commercialization of bringing a technological invention to market. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The interviewee is Dr Ken Goldberg, an inventor working at the intersection of art, robotics, and social media. He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1995 where he is the UC Berkeley William S. Floyd Jr Distinguished Chair in Engineering and recently served as Chair of the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Department. He has secondary appointments in UC Berkeley’s Electrical Engineering/Computer Science, Art Practice and the School of Information. Goldberg also holds an appointment at the UC San Francisco Medical School’s Department of Radiation Oncology where he pursues research in medical robotics. Goldberg is Director of the CITRIS “People and Robots” Initiative and the UC Berkeley’s Laboratory for Automation Science and Engineering (AUTOLAB) where he and his students research machine learning for robotics and automation in warehouses, homes, and operating rooms. In this interview, Goldberg shares some of his personal and business perspectives from his career-long pursuit of making robots less clumsy. Findings Goldberg earned dual BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984, and MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1990. Goldberg also studied at Edinburgh University and the Technion. From 1991-95 he taught at the University of Southern California, and in fall 2000, he was visiting faculty at the MIT Media Lab. Goldberg and his students pursue research in three primary areas: Geometric Algorithms for Automation, Cloud Robotics, and Robot Learning. Originality/value Goldberg developed the first complete algorithms for part feeding and part fixturing, and developed the first robot on the Internet. His inventions have been awarded nine US Patents. Goldberg has published over 250 peer-reviewed technical papers and edited four books. He co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE). He is also Co-Founder of the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab, the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM), the African Robotics Network (AFRON), the Center for Automation and Learning for Medical Robotics (CAL-MR), the CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative (DDI), Hybrid Wisdom Labs, and Moxie Institute. He has presented over four hundred keynote and invited lectures. Goldberg's artwork, closely linked with his research, has appeared in over seventy venues. Ken was awarded the Presidential Faculty Fellowship in 1995 by Bill Clinton, the Joseph Engelberger Robotics Award in 2000, elected IEEE Fellow in 2005, and selected by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society for the George Saridis Leadership Award in 2016.

Guest Editorial

The Oxford Handbook of corporate governance

Repurposing Electricity Access Research for the Global South: A Tale of Many Disconnects

Authors

The Photonics Research Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a multidisciplinary research centre with members from the Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments. The main objective of the group is to form the basis of collaborations among the members of the Group. The broad background of the members in the centre has led to synergism in a broad range of topics including fibre communication systems, fibre sensors, GaN-based detectors and light emitters and application of laser technology in GaNbased optoelectronic and electronic devices. In some cases we have already found useful applications of our work relevant to the need of Hong Kong. In the sections below we will introduce the three major areas of research in the field of photonics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

People with HIV (PWH) are often coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV), leading to increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but few cohort studies have had sufficient power to describe the trends of HCC incidence and risk among PWH in the combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) era. To determine the temporal trends of HCC incidence rates (IRs) and to compare rates by risk factors among PWH in the cART era. This cohort study used data from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD) study, which was conducted between 1996 and 2015. NA-ACCORD pooled individual-level data from 22 HIV clinical and interval cohorts of PWH in the US and Canada. PWH aged 18 years or older with available CD4 cell counts and HIV RNA data were enrolled. Data analyses were completed in March 2020. HBV infection was defined as detection of either HBV surface antigen, HBV e antigen, or HBV DNA in serum or plasma any time during observation. HCV infection was defined by detection of anti-HCV seropositivity, HCV RNA, or detectable genotype in serum or plasma at any time under observation. HCC diagnoses were identified on the basis of review of medical records or cancer registry linkage. Of 109 283 PWH with 723 441 person-years of follow-up, the median (interquartile range) age at baseline was 43 (36-51) years, 93 017 (85.1%) were male, 44 752 (40.9%) were White, 44 322 (40.6%) were Black, 21 343 (19.5%) had HCV coinfection, 6348 (5.8%) had HBV coinfection, and 2082 (1.9%) had triple infection; 451 individuals received a diagnosis of HCC by 2015. Between the early (1996-2000) and modern (2006-2015) cART eras, the crude HCC IR increased from 0.28 to 0.75 case per 1000 person-years. HCC IRs remained constant among HIV-monoinfected persons or those coinfected with HBV, but from 1996 to 2015, IRs increased among PWH coinfected with HCV (from 0.34 cases/1000 person-years in 1996 to 2.39 cases/1000 person-years in 2015) or those with triple infection (from 0.65 cases/1000 person-years in 1996 to 4.49 cases/1000 person-years in 2015). Recent HIV RNA levels greater than or equal to 500 copies/mL (IR ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4-2.4) and CD4 cell counts less than or equal to 500 cells/μL (IR ratio, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0-1.6) were associated with higher HCC risk in the modern cART era. People who injected drugs had higher HCC risk compared with men who had sex with men (IR ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-2.9), adjusted for HBV-HCV coinfection. HCC rates among PWH increased significantly over time from 1996 to 2015. PWH coinfected with viral hepatitis, those with higher HIV RNA levels or lower CD4 cell counts, and those who inject drugs had higher HCC risk.

BackgroundIntegrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been implicated in greater weight gain than other regimens among people with HIV, but there is little evidence about its role in serious clinical outcomes proximal to weight gain. We therefore examined the impact of initial ART regimen class/drug on incident diabetes mellitus (DM) in a large North American HIV cohort.MethodsTreatment-naïve adults (≥18 years) initiating INSTI-, protease inhibitor (PI)-, or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based ART from January 2007 to December 2016 in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD) were included. Individuals were followed until date of incident DM (HgA1c >6.5%, diabetes-specific medication, DM diagnosis along with diabetes-related medication, or random glucose measure ≥200 mg/dL), virologic failure, regimen core switch, cohort close (through December 2016), death date, or loss to follow-up (≥12 months with no contact before cohort close). Cox regression stratified by site and adjusting for age, sex, race, HIV transmission risk, year of ART initiation, and baseline weight, CD4+ cell count, and HIV-1 RNA yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident DM by ART class and INSTI drug.ResultsAmong 21,516 eligible ART initiators, 10,553 (49%) started NNRTIs, 6,677 (31%) PIs, and 4,286 (20%) INSTIs, with median follow-up of 3.0, 2.4, and 1.6 years, respectively. Among INSTI initiators, 21% started dolutegravir (DTG), 28% raltegravir (RAL), and 51% elvitegravir (EVG). Overall, 669 (3%) developed DM. Patients differed by all characteristics except baseline body mass index and HIV-1 RNA. Those starting INSTIs vs. NNRTIs had increased risk of incident DM (HR = 1.22; CI: 0.95–1.57) similar in magnitude as for PI vs. NNRTI initiators (HR = 1.25; CI: 1.05–1.49) (figure). Among INSTIs, starting RAL- vs. NNRTI-based ART was associated with a 50% increased risk of DM (HR = 1.50, CI: 1.11–2.03).ConclusionInitiating ART with INSTI- or PI- vs. NNRTI-based regimens may confer increased risk of incident DM, though risk is heterogeneous among INSTIs. Further research is needed to determine whether this elevated risk can be attributed to weight gain.DisclosuresKassem Bourgi, MD, Gilead Sciences (Grant/Research Support), Joseph J. Eron, MD, Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Grant/Research Support), Janssen (Grant/Research Support), Merck (Consultant), ViiV Healthcare (Consultant, Grant/Research Support), M. John Gill, MB, ChB, MSc, Gilead (Board Member), Merck (Board Member), Viiv (Board Member), Michael Silverberg, PhD, MPH, Gilead (Grant/Research Support). Other Authors: No reported disclosures.

BackgroundCombination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly increased survival among HIV-positive adults in the United States (U.S.) and Canada, but gains in life expectancy for this region have not been well characterized. We aim to estimate temporal changes in life expectancy among HIV-positive adults on ART from 2000–2007 in the U.S. and Canada.MethodsParticipants were from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD), aged ≥20 years and on ART. Mortality rates were calculated using participants' person-time from January 1, 2000 or ART initiation until death, loss to follow-up, or administrative censoring December 31, 2007. Life expectancy at age 20, defined as the average number of additional years that a person of a specific age will live, provided the current age-specific mortality rates remain constant, was estimated using abridged life tables.ResultsThe crude mortality rate was 19.8/1,000 person-years, among 22,937 individuals contributing 82,022 person-years and 1,622 deaths. Life expectancy increased from 36.1 [standard error (SE) 0.5] to 51.4 [SE 0.5] years from 2000–2002 to 2006–2007. Men and women had comparable life expectancies in all periods except the last (2006–2007). Life expectancy was lower for individuals with a history of injection drug use, non-whites, and in patients with baseline CD4 counts <350 cells/mm3.ConclusionsA 20-year-old HIV-positive adult on ART in the U.S. or Canada is expected to live into their early 70 s, a life expectancy approaching that of the general population. Differences by sex, race, HIV transmission risk group, and CD4 count remain.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are established antihypertensive treatments that reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, their comparative effectiveness in people with HIV (PWH) is not well examined. This study evaluated the comparative effectiveness of ACEIs and ARBs head-to-head and versus no antihypertensive treatment in preventing primary CVD. Using a target trial emulation framework and data from the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD), we estimated observational analogs of intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) effects of antihypertensive treatments in preventing primary CVD (myocardial infarction, non-MI coronary artery disease, stroke, transient ischemic attack, peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular death) among hypertensive PWH, with subgroup analyses for Black and White PWH. Compared with no antihypertensive treatment, ACEIs and ARBs were both associated with lower CVD risk in PWH, with similar effect sizes in ITT and PP analyses (ACEI ITT adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.79, 95% CI [0.70-0.89]; ACEI PP: 0.71 [0.55-0.90]; ARB ITT: 0.87 [0.65-1.16]; ARB PP: 0.37 [0.18-0.76]). Race-stratified ITT and PP analyses suggested somewhat greater risk reductions in White than Black PWH, although differences were not statistically significant. In head-to-head comparisons, ACEIs and ARBs showed comparable effectiveness overall (ITT: 1.14 [0.84-1.55]; PP: 0.54 [0.25-1.18]), and within race strata. Our study found that both ACEIs and ARBs were effective in reducing CVD risk among PWH, with similar effectiveness observed for both medications. The analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences in effectiveness between Black and White PWH for either drug.

To determine the impact of age and initial HAART regimen class on virologic and immunologic response within 24 months after initiation. Pooled analysis of data from 19 prospective cohort studies in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD). Twelve thousand, one hundred and ninety-six antiretroviral-naive adults who initiated HAART between 1998 and 2008 using a boosted protease inhibitor-based regimen or a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimen were included in our study. Discrete time-to-event models estimated adjusted hazard odds ratios (aHOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for suppressed viral load (≤500 copies/ml) and, separately, at least 100 cells/μl increase in CD4 cell count. Truncated, stabilized inverse probability weights accounted for selection biases from discontinuation of initial regimen class. Among 12 196 eligible participants (mean age = 42 years), 50% changed regimen classes after initiation (57 and 48% of whom initiated protease inhibitor and NNRTI-based regimens, respectively). Mean CD4 cell count at initiation was similar by age. Virologic response to treatment was less likely in those initiating using a boosted protease inhibitor [aHOR = 0.77 (0.73, 0.82)], regardless of age. Immunologic response decreased with increasing age [18-<30: ref; 30-<40: aHOR = 0.92 (0.85, 1.00); 40-<50: aHOR = 0.85 (0.78, 0.92); 50-<60: aHOR = 0.82 (0.74, 0.90); ≥60: aHOR = 0.74 (0.65, 0.85)], regardless of initial regimen. We found no evidence of an interaction between age and initial antiretroviral regimen on virologic or immunologic response to HAART; however, decreased immunologic response with increasing age may have implications for age-specific when-to-start guidelines.