Towards Ethical AI: Empirically Investigating Dimensions of AI Ethics, Trust Repair, and Performance in Human-AI Teaming.

OBJECTIVE: Determining the efficacy of two trust repair strategies (apology and denial) for trust violations of an ethical nature by an autonomous teammate. BACKGROUND: While ethics in human-AI interaction is extensively studied, little research has investigated how decisions with ethical implications impact trust and performance within human-AI teams and their subsequent repair. METHOD: Forty teams of two participants and one autonomous teammate completed three team missions within a synthetic task environment. The autonomous teammate made an ethical or unethical action during each mission, followed by an apology or denial. Measures of individual team trust, autonomous teammate trust, human teammate trust, perceived autonomous teammate ethicality, and team performance were taken. RESULTS: Teams with unethical autonomous teammates had significantly lower trust in the team and trust in the autonomous teammate. Unethical autonomous teammates were also perceived as substantially more unethical. Neither trust repair strategy effectively restored trust after an ethical violation, and autonomous teammate ethicality was not related to the team score, but unethical autonomous teammates did have shorter times. CONCLUSION: Ethical violations significantly harm trust in the overall team and autonomous teammate but do not negatively impact team score. However, current trust repair strategies like apologies and denials appear ineffective in restoring trust after this type of violation. APPLICATION: This research highlights the need to develop trust repair strategies specific to human-AI teams and trust violations of an ethical nature.

Maturation of female common snook Centropomus undecimalis: implications for managing protandrous fishes.

The assumption for hermaphroditic fish species that mature individuals of the terminal sex arise directly from mature individuals of the primary sex has led to the use of sex ratios as a proxy for age at maturity (A50 ). The timing of transition and deficient energy reserves, however, can result in a delay between transition and spawning. To test the assumption of female maturity and investigate the relationship between maturation and energy reserves, common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, a protandrous hermaphrodite, were collected from rivers, estuaries, inlets and offshore habitats on the east coast of Florida during 2010-2015. Immature females were observed every month, with lowest proportions during the peak spawning months of July and August. When calculated based on sex ratio, A50 (8.1 years) overestimated the age at which 50% of the female population was, in fact, mature (4.1-4.9 years). Best-fit models indicate that mesenteric fat index (IF ) and hepato-somatic index (IH ) were significantly affected by gonad phase, month and size and weakly by habitat. In post hoc analysis, immature female IF did not differ significantly from developing and regenerating females, but immature female IH was significantly lower than that for all mature phases except animals in the regressing phase. Although immature females may have sufficient energy in terms of fat, it appears that energy is not allocated to reproductive processes, as evidenced by lower IH . Nonetheless, approximately 95% of females were spawning-capable during peak spawning months, suggesting that the energy threshold at which immature females reach maturity is met by most females each spawning cycle.

Relative importance of competition and plant-soil feedback, their synergy, context dependency and implications for coexistence.

Plants interact simultaneously with each other and with soil biota, yet the relative importance of competition vs. plant-soil feedback (PSF) on plant performance is poorly understood. Using a meta-analysis of 38 published studies and 150 plant species, we show that effects of interspecific competition (either growing plants with a competitor or singly, or comparing inter- vs. intraspecific competition) and PSF (comparing home vs. away soil, live vs. sterile soil, or control vs. fungicide-treated soil) depended on treatments but were predominantly negative, broadly comparable in magnitude, and additive or synergistic. Stronger competitors experienced more negative PSF than weaker competitors when controlling for density (inter- to intraspecific competition), suggesting that PSF could prevent competitive dominance and promote coexistence. When competition was measured against plants growing singly, the strength of competition overwhelmed PSF, indicating that the relative importance of PSF may depend not only on neighbour identity but also density. We evaluate how competition and PSFs might interact across resource gradients; PSF will likely strengthen competitive interactions in high resource environments and enhance facilitative interactions in low-resource environments. Finally, we provide a framework for filling key knowledge gaps and advancing our understanding of how these biotic interactions influence community structure.

Insufficient sampling constrains our characterization of plant microbiomes.

Plants host diverse microbial communities, but there is little consensus on how we sample these communities, and this has unknown consequences. Using root and leaf tissue from showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), we compared two common sampling strategies: (1) homogenizing after subsampling (30 mg), and (2) homogenizing bulk tissue before subsampling (30 mg). We targeted bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and non-AM fungi in roots, and foliar fungal endophytes (FFE) in leaves. We further extracted DNA from all of the leaf tissue collected to determine the extent of undersampling of FFE, and sampled FFE twice across the season using strategy one to assess temporal dynamics. All microbial groups except AM fungi differed in composition between the two sampling strategies. Community overlap increased when rare taxa were removed, but FFE and bacterial communities still differed between strategies, with largely non-overlapping communities within individual plants. Increasing the extraction mass 10 × increased FFE richness ~ 10 ×, confirming the severe undersampling indicated in the sampling comparisons. Still, seasonal patterns in FFEs were apparent, suggesting that strong drivers are identified despite severe undersampling. Our findings highlight that current sampling practices poorly characterize many microbial groups, and increased sampling intensity is necessary for increase reproducibility and to identify subtler patterns in microbial distributions.

[Study with serial sectioning of 312 preclinical cancers of the uterine cervix. Indications for selective treatment (author's transl)]. / Etudes par coupes sériées de 312 cancers pré-cliniques du col utérin. Déductions thérapeutiques.

The authors have studied by step serial sectioning 312 cervix the most obtained by cold knife conization. They have studied too, the frequency of inadequate resection (i.e. non in sano conization) and clinically occult invasion according to the age of patients. Conization is adequate for the treatment of 70 per cent of women less than 30 years of age. But after 50 it is sufficient in only 22 per cent of the patients. Conization must be performed in most cases of grade III to V cervical smear (according to Papanicolaou's classification). The cervical cone must be studied by serial sectioning (every 500 microns). According to the result of this study the treatment must be selected : conization for in situ carcinoma resected in sano, simple hysterectomy for in situ carcinoma not resected in situ and Wertheim type operation for invasive carcinoma.

[Value of differential cytology in the diagnosis of preclinical forms of cervix uteri cancer]. / Valeur de la cytologie différentielle dans le diagnostic des formes précliniques du cancer cervico-utérin.

The value of "differential cytology" in the diagnosis of preclinical carcinoma of the cervix uteri was assessed from serial sections of operative specimens in a series of 452 patients. Although not absolute, this value was found to be considerable. Used to supplement colposcopy-guided biopsy, it makes it possible to decide on the therapeutic approach (notably simple destruction by laser) without having recourse to conization. However, the results are only valid for the team which presents them, and before deciding to treat intra-epithelial carcinomas by laser destruction, each team must perform the same "quality control".

Environmental influences on the spatial ecology of juvenile smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata): results from acoustic monitoring.

To aid recovery efforts of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) populations in U.S. waters a research project was developed to assess how changes in environmental conditions within estuarine areas affected the presence, movements, and activity space of this endangered species. Forty juvenile P. pectinata were fitted with acoustic tags and monitored within the lower 27 km of the Caloosahatchee River estuary, Florida, between 2005 and 2007. Sawfish were monitored within the study site from 1 to 473 days, and the number of consecutive days present ranged from 1 to 125. Residency index values for individuals varied considerably, with annual means highest in 2005 (0.95) and lowest in 2007 (0.73) when several P. pectinata moved upriver beyond detection range during drier conditions. Mean daily activity space was 1.42 km of river distance. The distance between 30-minute centers of activity was typically <0.1 km, suggesting limited movement over short time scales. Salinity electivity analysis demonstrated an affinity for salinities between 18 and at least 24 psu, suggesting movements are likely made in part, to remain within this range. Thus, freshwater flow from Lake Okeechobee (and its effect on salinity) affects the location of individuals within the estuary, although it remains unclear whether or not these movements are threatening recovery.

[Vulvar intra-epithelial neoplasms. Development of ideas and facts]. / Les néoplasies intra-épithéliales vulvaires. Evolution des idées et des faits.

The authors report their personal experience concerning the recent increase in the frequency of VINs and demonstrate how the mean age of the patients has decreased. They advocate "vulvoscopy" and guided biopsy for screening. VIN I and II may be treated with local chemotherapy and/or laser vaporisation. VIN III must be treated surgically (superficial tailored resection).

[Unexpected positive results in vaginal smears]. / La positivation "brutale" du frottis vaginal.

Cervicovaginal cytological screening is carried out nowadays at a periodicity dictated by epidemiological experience, in order to detect neoplastic lesions as early as possible. When the vaginal smear test gives an unexpected positive result, a certain number of problems arise which not only relate to the development of lesions but also involve the gynecologist, the laboratory technician and the patient herself. The authors have used three different surveys to study the frequency of this situation and its etiological circumstances, in order to define the conditions that optimize reliability of the cytological examination in daily practice.

A randomized prospective study comparing three techniques of conization: cold knife, laser, and LEEP.

Three different techniques of cervical excision, cold knife conization, laser conization, and loop electrosurgical excisional procedure (LEEP) were prospectively compared with respect to treatment reliability, effectiveness, and safety. One hundred ten women with CIN1-2 and the squamnocolumnar junction not seen or CIN3 at the original diagnosis were randomized to treatment with cold knife conization (n = 37), laser conization (n = 37), or LEEP (n = 36). All three treatments were performed with local anesthesia on an outpatient basis. The mean age, histologic features (original and histology of the conization), endocervical involvement, and ectocervical extension were similar in the three groups. Blood loss and operating time were less (P < 0.01) in the LEEP group (5.4 cc of mean blood loss and 5.4 min mean duration time) than in the two other groups (16.2 cc and 14.0 min for cold knife conization, 21.5 cc and 15.6 min for laser conization). Volumes of the cones were evaluated: LEEP cones and laser cones were smaller than the cold knife cones (P < 0.001). During the pathological review of the conization, the major problem was difficulty in evaluating the lesion and its margins due to the coagulation induced by the laser or the LEEP. This alteration was present in 53% of the LEEP conization specimens and in 51% of the laser conization specimens. In the majority of the cases the coagulation was mild, but in one case (LEEP group) and in two cases (laser group) the conization was totally altered by the coagulation, and in 31% of all the LEEP conizations and 38% of all the laser conizations, evaluation of the entire margin was not possible due to coagulation of the tissue. During postoperative follow-up, the number of complications was the same in the three groups (two episodes of post-operative bleeding in each of the three groups). Two months after the treatment the cervix was evaluated: the os was diminished in the cold knife group compared to the two other groups and as a result, the squamnocolumnar junction was not seen in entirety in 50% of cold knife cases, in 19% of LEEP cases, and in 20% of laser cases. These results suggest that in our hands: (1) laser conization is relatively costly and time consuming and alters the tissues significantly, and (2) the choice between cold knife and LEEP is more difficult--cold knife gives a sample adequate for histological evaluation (including evaluation of the margins), while the LEEP procedure is technically easier and less time consuming but sometimes induces electrocautery artifact so that evaluation of the margins is not possible.

V factor (tumor volume) and T factor (FIGO classification) in the assessment of cervix cancer prognosis: the risk of lymph node spread.

An attempt was made by investigation of the operative specimens from 98 patients suffering from epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix to assess the relationship between lymphatic spread on one hand and tumor volume and anatomical stage on the other hand. Within the same anatomical stage the risk of lymphatic spread is more important as the tumor volume increases. The reverse is also true. Within the same volume the risk of lymphatic spread increases when cancer extends beyond the "cervix-parametrium" barrier. The anatomical classification based on the T factor deserves to be retained, classification which some wanted to replace by another one based exclusively on the V factor.

[Difficulties in the detection and the diagnosis of carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix in the presence of associated dysplasia]. / Difficultés du dépistage et du diagnostic du cancer in situ du col utérin en cas de dysplasie associée

Ninety nine cases of carcinoma in situ of the cervix are reported. In all cases, the definitive diagnosis was established after study of an operative specimen (cone biopsy or hysterectomy) examined by serial section. Pre-operative cytology was falsely negative (or suggestive of simple dysplasia) in 35,4 per cent of cases and pre-operative biopsy falsely negative in 40 per cent. These errors were approximately twice as common in cases in which dysplasia was present in association with the caricinoma (40 cases) than in those cases in which the malignancy alone was present (59 cases). The practical conclusions which may be drawn from these findings in relation to detection and diagnosis are discussed.