Significant Preference Research Articles

Comparative psychophysics of Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) colour purity and intensity perception.

Bees play a vital role as pollinators worldwide and have influenced how flower colour signals have evolved. The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera (Apini), and the Buff-tailed bumble bee, Bombus terrestris (Bombini) are well-studied model species with regard to their sensory physiology and pollination capacity, although currently far less is known about stingless bees (Meliponini) that are common in pantropical regions. We conducted comparative experiments with two highly eusocial bee species, the Western honey bee, A. mellifera, and the Australian stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria, to understand their colour preferences considering fine-scaled stimuli specifically designed for testing bee colour vision. We employed stimuli made of pigment powders to allow manipulation of single colour parameters including spectral purity (saturation) or colour intensity (brightness) of a blue colour (hue) for which both species have previously shown innate preferences. Both A. mellifera and T. carbonaria demonstrated a significant preference for spectrally purer colour stimuli, although this preference is more pronounced in honey bees than in stingless bees. When all other colour cues were tightly controlled, honey bees receiving absolute conditioning demonstrated a capacity to learn a high-intensity stimulus significant from chance expectation demonstrating some capacity of plasticity for this dimension of colour perception. However, honey bees failed to learn low-intensity stimuli, and T. carbonaria was insensitive to stimulus intensity as a cue. These comparative findings suggest that there may be some common roots underpinning colour perception in bee pollinators and how they interact with flowers, although species-specific differences do exist.

Highly Selective Potentiometric Sensing of Biologically Relevant Pyrophosphate and Lysophosphatidic Acid Using N-Alkyl/Aryl Ammonium Resorcinarenes/Extended-Resorcinarenes as Ionophores.

The ionophore properties of four kinds of N-alkyl/aryl ammonium resorcinarenes and extended-resorcinarenes were inspected for the first time to fabricate polymeric membrane electrodes for determination of biologically relevant pyrophosphate (PPi) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). The proposed ion selective electrodes (ISEs) showed significant preference for PPi and LPA with significant selectivity pattern differences from the Hofmeister series. To gain further insight into the performances of the developed ISEs, the binding constants of ionophore-anion complexes in the plasticized membrane phase were investigated, along with the optimized geometries and calculated electrostatic potential. Nernstian potential responses with good reversibility to target anions can be observed when shifting the optimized membranes in aqueous solutions in the concentration range from 10-6.5 to 10-2.3/10-2.2 M. Moreover, potentiometric sensings of PPi and LPA in mineral water and artificial serum were achieved in low μM concentration range, demonstrating their promising real-world applications. These results provide a promising avenue for the development of polymeric membrane electrodes for biological relevant anions and will broaden the scope of potentiometric sensing.

Ask a Further Question or Give a List? How Should Conversational Agents Reply to Users’ Uncertain Queries

Conversational agents (CAs) have recently become ubiquitous. Smart speakers, mobile phone voice assistants, and in-car voice assistants have entered our lives. Studies have examined some factors influencing the user experience (UX) of CAs. However, there is little research on CAs’ reply design, especially when the information the users need is uncertain, which is regarded as an uncertain information scenario. The current research mainly focuses on measuring the UX with CAs’ replies in uncertain information scenarios. We designed two reply strategies of CAs, namely, a further inquiry strategy and a list-style reply strategy, to improve UX in this kind of uncertain information scenario. Two studies were designed and conducted based on the E-prime platform to verify the effect of the two reply strategies on UX. In Study 1, we verified the influence of inquiry strategy with different address terms for users on UX. In Study 2, we verified the influence of the list-style reply strategy (explicit and implicit) on UX. The gender differences in the evaluation of the two reply strategies were also examined. The results showed that, in the uncertain information scenarios, the reply strategy of further inquiries received a higher UX evaluation than direct replies in Study 1. Moreover, male participants preferred the “master” address to the “nin” address. However, male participants had no significant preference for further inquiries. For male participants, there was no significant difference in the UX evaluations for the “master” address and “nin” address. List-style replies with ranking information received the highest UX ratings, followed by list-style replies without ranking information and direct replies in Study 2, indicating that users preferred the explicit reply design of CAs. In addition, we found that male participants tended to have a higher rating of CA replies for all reply methods than female participants in our studies, suggesting that women have higher expectations for the reply design of CAs. In general, these results may contribute to the design of CA replies and highlight the importance of personalizing CA language.

The financialization of nonfinancial companies in China: A macroeconomic perspective

We examine the convergence of corporate financialization and the impact of macroeconomic changes on corporate financialization in Chinese nonfinancial listed companies. Strong evidence suggests that multiple convergence clubs exist and that macroeconomic changes play an essential role in their composition. Economic growth and financial development positively affect corporate financial asset allocation, while monetary policy negatively affects corporate financial asset allocation. Given macroeconomic changes, companies with high financial investment profitability and low financing constraints tend to allocate more to financial assets. In contrast, companies with poor financial investment performance and limited financing capacity do not have significant financial investment preferences.

A Cross-National Analysis of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cues' Preferences of Premium Denim Products : A Case of Levi's and other Premium / Luxury Denim Brands

This study has been conducted to investigate the Premium Denim brands’ intrinsic and extrinsic product cues which are significant for consumers when they want to shop for their favourite denim brands. The brands which are included in this study are Levi’s, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Armani and Gap. This research is a cross-national study and data are collected from India and European countries like Italy, Malta, UK, Poland, Sweden, Serbia etc. For intrinsic cues study we have taken products’ quality, fabric, color, fitting and uniqueness whereas for extrinsic cues we have taken pricing cues preferences, distribution channel preferences and promotional tools influences on Indian and European consumers. Design/Methodology/ Approach Online questionnaires link were shared through emails, whatsapp and linkedin and paper questionnaires were distributed to friends, universities students and to other people in India to collect responses from them. Students of “University of Ca’foscari, Venice, Italy” were met several times during lunch break and informed about research questionnaire. The google forms of questionnaire were sent to the university students and other respondents of European countries through emails and linked in. Hypotheses for intrinsic and extrinsic cues were developed and data analysis was conducted by SPSS statistical analyses. Originality/Value There are very few research papers written on both intrinsic and extrinsic cues and with an in- depth empirical research. Some scholars have written research papers on intrinsic cues and extrinsic cues separately. This study is an in-depth and comprehensive investigation of cross-national research on premium denim products’ intrinsic and extrinsic cues and its statistically significant preferences and influence differences between India and European countries’ consumers.

Using Google Street View Panoramas to evaluate the environmental aesthetics quality of blue spaces in urban area

The water environment is considered an important element of the urban landscape. In this study, panoramas of the Google Street Map were used to evaluate the aesthetics quality of three blue spaces environment in the Tokyo, and discussed factors affecting these aesthetic qualities. The founding of the paper: 1) the environmental characteristics of the three selected UBSs are different; 2) three UBS with different environmental visual factors (SVF, BVF, and TVF); 3) the Google Street View panoramas used in the study enable viewers to perceive the differences in the aesthetic quality of different environments; 4) the most significant preference predictor for three UBS is Mystery, and “Multisensority & Nature” and “Sublimity” are two significant preference predictor for urban canal. The results of the study have practical and managerial implications for improving the environmental aesthetic quality of urban blue spaces.

The Organizational Performance of Higher Educational Institutions in China: The Role of Leadership Style

The landscape of higher education institutions (HEIs) has changed and become increasingly complex, making it crucial for colleges and universities to cultivate and hire savvy individuals who can effectively implement change initiatives and lead faculty, staff, and students. Higher education institutions (HEI) have unquestionably experienced a successful period of transition and transformation over the past decade. This achievement can be ascribed to the pressures they faced in securing, maintaining, and retaining their position in the university rankings. In light of all these shifts, it's clear that the head of an educational institution faces significant difficulties in adjusting to the new circumstances. Much literature suggests that leaders can boost important metrics like employee job satisfaction and commitment by tuning in to and responding to the needs of their followers. Contingency or situational theory has been proposed to support the whole body of study. This study was developed to assess these two specific areas. The first was a comprehensive review of leadership style preferences among leaders in HEIs as a collective group. The second was to determine whether leadership style was significantly able to measure organizational performance. The suggested conceptual framework was able to discover a significant preference differential between transactional leadership and transformational leadership, with academics expressing a greater preference than staff as well. Overall, the proposed framework can be adapted to any scenario variable or future research field. It will effectively contribute to the advancement of China's education system.

Socially significant information and issues of the Kazakhstanis’ trust in the media

This article presents the results of the sociological survey of the Kazakhstan society on the issues of the information society and mass communication, which was a part of the programtargeted-funded project of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Development of information technologies and systems for the sustainable personal development as a foundation for the development of digital Kazakhstan”. The study aimed at identifying preferences of various social categories in the choice of news and socially significant topics in the media space, and at assessing the influence of news of different thematic focus on the personal sustainable development (psychological/emotional, social and intellectual stability). The comprehensive analysis of the media as a channel of social influence has become more urgent under the pandemic, which is reflected in the wide use of the term ‘infodemic’ to assess information processes since the first half of 2020. The article considers the information agenda when choosing and assessing the importance of news content in the Kazakhstan media. Based on the postulate about significant differences in the information agenda of different social groups, the authors focus on the main factors of trust in information channels. The empirical data showed a correlation between the social significance of news information and the level of social trust in media. The study is based on the theoretical model combining two complementary factors: on the one hand, the influence of the media as possessing if not a monopoly (P. Bourdieu) then significant preferences in affecting public opinion and value orientations of various groups; on the other hand, the media dependence as determined by supply and demand. Based on various theories of the information agenda setting, the authors confirmed the need to take into account the social-demographic characteristics when forming the media content - when it is necessary to convey some specific information to different social groups.

Turbidity influences the recruitment of Argyrosomus japonicus to estuarine nurseries

Estuaries serve as important nursery habitats for several coastal fishery species. The successful recruitment of larvae and early juveniles into estuaries is paramount for population persistence and maintenance. Several factors have been proposed as stimuli that could elicit a recruitment response in estuary-associated fish species. Larvae and early juveniles may trace land-based cues back to an estuary by following the olfactory concentration gradient or use other visual or acoustic stimuli. Argyrosomus japonicus is an iconic estuarine-associated species. Due to overfishing, reduced freshwater input and habitat degradation in their estuarine nursery habitat, the South African population has suffered severe stock declines. Turbidity associated with high freshwater input is thought to promote recruitment into estuaries. We used choice-chamber laboratory experiments to test the hypothesis that settlement-stage A. japonicus are attracted to turbidity rather than olfactory gradients when recruiting into estuaries. Three choice experiments (with three replicate trials each) were performed over three consecutive days. Each experiment used paired combinations of six estuarine/seawater types with varying turbidity and olfactory characteristics. For each experiment, three trials were repeated in succession with six new fish for each trial. Settlement-stage A. japonicus showed a significant preference for turbid water (with and without olfactory cues) over seawater (no olfactory cues) and clear estuary water (with olfactory cues). No clear choice was made between clear estuary water (with olfactory cues) and clear artificial seawater (without olfactory cues), suggesting that turbidity gradients are most likely the primary factor governing the recruitment of settlement-stage A. japonicus into estuaries.

Distribution and damage potential of pulse beetles, Callosobruchus spp. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in Sindh, Pakistan

Callosobruchus spp. are global serious pests of pulses. Therefore, two studies were carried out to determine their distribution in three ecological zones of the Sindh, Pakistan along with their damage potential to major pulses. Survey was conducted from Zone-one (Ghotki, Sukkur and Larkana districts), Zone-two (Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas and Shaheed Benazirabad districts) and Zone-three (Karachi district) during March – April 2020. Grain samples of main pulses i.e., chickpea (channa), field pea (matar), cowpea (lobia), green lentil (moong) and daal channa were collected from three locations of each district and brought to Stored Grain Research Laboratory, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Crop Protection, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam for further examination. Three pulse beetle species i.e., C. maculatus, C. chinensis and C. analis were identified from the collected pulse samples as the highest populations of adults, eggs, grubs and pupae was recorded from moong, followed by lobia and gram. No population of pulse beetle was recorded from daal channa and matar. Callosobruchus maculatus was the most dominant species at all sampling as higher beetle populations were recorded from Mirpur Khas and Sukkur districts. Therefore, both these strains were further evaluated for their feeding preference and weight loss assessment on various pulses i.e., gram (chickpea), lobia (cowpea), moong (green gram) and daal channa (yellow lentil) in no-choice under laboratory conditions. C. maculatus showed a significant feeding preference among pulses with lobia and gram being the most preferred, whereas daal channa was the least preferred, hence suffered highest and lowest weight loss, respectively. Therefore, proper storage and quarantine measures are suggested to be taken in the transportation and storage of pulses to restrict the spread and damage of pulse beetles.

Fragment-based discovery of orphan nuclear receptor Nur77/NGFI-B ligands

The transcription factor nerve growth factor-induced clone B (NGFI-B, Nur77, NR4A1) is an orphan nuclear receptor playing a role in cell survival and apoptosis regulation. Pharmacological Nur77 modulation holds promise for cancer and (neuro-)inflammatory disease treatment. The available Nur77 ligand scaffolds based on highly lipophilic natural products cytosporone B, celastrol and isoalantolactone are inadequate for the development of potent Nur77 modulators with favorable properties as chemical tools and future drugs. By fragment library screening and subsequent modeling for fragment extension, we have obtained a set of new Nur77 ligands offering alternative chemotypes for the development of Nur77 agonists and inverse agonists. Computer-aided fragment extension in a second stage screening yielded a Nur77 agonist with significant activation efficacy and preference over the related NR4A receptors.

Effects of Graphitic and Pyridinic Nitrogen Defects on Transition Metal Nucleation and Nanoparticle Formation on N-Doped Carbon Supports: Implications for Catalysis

Functionalization of carbon supports with heteroatom dopants is now widely regarded as a promising route for stabilizing and strengthening the interactions between the support and metal catalysts. Tuning the type and density of heteroatom dopants allows for the tailoring of nanoscale catalyst–support interactions; however, an understanding of these phenomena has not yet been fully realized because of the complexity of the system. In this work, computational modeling, materials synthesis, and advanced nanomaterial characterization are used to systematically investigate the intriguing effect of the two most common nitrogen functionalities in the carbon-based supports on the interactions with selected transition metals toward realizing catalytic applications. Specifically, this study utilized density functional theory to evaluate adsorption energies and modes of adsorption for 12 metals located in groups 8–11 and periods 4–6 with pyridinic and graphitic N defects. Based on these results, further electronic structure investigation of the period 4 metals was conducted to elucidate periodic group trends. Experimental work included synthesis and nanomaterial characterization of a subset of materials featuring three metals each supported on two types of N-doped carbon supports and undoped graphene. Characterization of nanomaterials with scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed that N functionalities enhanced the interactions with the selected transition metals when compared to the undoped support and demonstrated that the nature of the defect influences these interactions. Both computations and experiments agreed that Fe and Co are biased toward the graphitic sites over pyridinic sites, while Ni has an affinity to both defects without a statistically significant preference. This work established a correlation between computational and experimental work and a framework that can be expanded to other metals and alternative dopants beyond nitrogen in tailoring nanoscale catalyst–support interactions for a breadth of catalytic applications.

The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, an emerging paradigm of a gender egalitarian organisation.

Females are underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) disciplines globally and although progress has been made, the gender gap persists. Our aim was to explore gender parity in the context of gender representation and internal collaboration at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING), a leading national biomedical organisation accredited as an equal opportunity employer. Towards this aim we (1) explored trends in gender parity within the different departments, positions and qualifications and in student representation in the CING's postgraduate school and, (2) investigated the degree of collaboration between male and female researchers within the Institute and the degree of influence within its co-authorship network. We recorded an over-representation of females both in the CING employees and the postgraduate students. The observed female over-representation in pooled CING employees was consistent with a similar over-representation in less senior positions and was contrasted with an observed male over-representation in only one middle rank and culminated in gender equality in the top rank in employee hierarchy. In terms of collaboration, both males and females tended to collaborate with each other without any significant preference to either inter-group or intra-group collaboration. Further comparison of the two groups with respect to their influence in the network in terms of occupying the positions of highest centrality scores, indicated that both gender and seniority level (head vs non-head) were significant in shaping the authors' influence, with no significant difference in those belonging in the same seniority level with respect to their gender. To conclude, our study has validated the formal recognition of the CING's policies and procedures pertinent to its egalitarian culture through the majority of the metrics of gender equality assessed in this study and has provided an extendable paradigm for evaluating gender parity in academic organizations.

Development Model of College English Education Service Talents Based on Nonlinear Random Matrix

The development of artificial intelligence makes people’s life and work easier and more effective, and computer-based online exams and marking not only improve students’ learning efficiency but also reduce the pressure of teachers’ marking work. For objective questions, marking has gone from manual marking to cursor reader marking to computerized character matching, and the correct rate of marking has soared to 100%; for subjective questions, foreign systems such as PEG and E-rater have been used, and domestic systems such as those using English large corpus similarity matching and those based on natural language understanding using intelligent algorithms have been used for marking. Most of these systems are based on some shallow linguistic features such as rules and LSAs for marking, and there is no deep perception of English language sense. Although the current intelligent marking systems have made a lot of achievements, they do not fundamentally solve the problem of the rationality of intelligent marking of subjective questions. In this article, we propose a regularized discriminant analysis algorithm with good estimation of the mean, and a dimensionality reduction algorithm for high-dimensional missing data by using the relevant research results of random matrix theory to address the problems of traditional machine learning methods in high-dimensional data analysis. Although the linear discriminant analysis algorithm performs well in solving many practical problems, it works poorly in dealing with high-dimensional data. The specific analysis is as follows: in terms of age characteristics, the mobile population under the age of 35 has a significant preference for urban consumer comfort, and it increases with age, peaking at the stage of 30–35 years old and then decreasing rapidly. For this reason, a regularized discriminant analysis algorithm based on random matrix theory is proposed. First, a good estimate of the high-dimensional covariance matrix is made by the nonlinear shrinkage method or the eigenvalue interception method, respectively; then, the estimated high-dimensional covariance matrix is used to calculate the discriminant function values and perform the classification. The classification experiments conducted on simulated and real datasets show that the proposed algorithm is not only more widely applicable but also has a high correct classification rate.

Survival trends in solid cancers in the Nordic countries through 50 years

AimsGlobal survival studies in cancer have generally shown favourable development, but studies over extended periods on populations for which medical care is essentially free of charge are lacking. MethodsWe analyse relative 1- and 5-year survival in all solid cancers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden through a 50-year period (1970–2019) using the NORDCAN database. ResultsThe most recent survival results showed three types of patterns. Cancers of very good survival (5-year survival ∼90%) included common cancers of the breast and prostate, as well as melanoma. The second pattern, which included the largest number of cancers, showed 1-year survival of over 80% and a drop of 10–20 % units in 5-year survival. The third group consisted of eight fatal cancers, sharing poor 5-year survival (around 20%). The 50-year improvement in 1-year survival was largest (30–50 % units) in kidney, brain, gallbladder and liver cancers, and (∼30%) in colon, small intestinal, lung, pleural, pancreas and ovarian cancers. Improvements in 5-year survival were highest (40–50 % units) in prostate and kidney cancers but remained at 10–20 % units for the eight fatal cancers. Survival showed significant sex preferences for a few cancers. ConclusionsThe analysis over a half-century confirms the progress in ‘real-world’ cancer control, and in 84% of patients 5-year survival was >60%. Metastases remain a challenge, placing the emphasis on early detection before metastasis occurs. Novel therapies, such as immunotherapy which has curative potential even against metastatic disease, are needed.

Correlation analysis of migration in Eriocheir sinensis of the Yangtze River estuary based on salinity preference.

Reproduction and development are the most important stages in the life of aquatic animals, which are also the most sensitive stages to environmental stress. As a migratory crab, parent Eriocheir sinensis need to migrate to estuary (brackish water) for reproduction, and megalopas need to migrate to freshwater for development. Yangtze River estuary is located at the junction of the Yangtze River and the East China Sea, and the salinity of different regions varies greatly (salinity 0-30‰). Therefore, salinity is one of the key environmental factors affecting E. sinensis. In this study, the salinity preference of parent and megalopas E. sinensis was observed and analyzed by the six-chambered and seven-chambered devices of laboratory experiments. Two groups of alternative salinity were set for parent crabs (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 ‰) and megalopas (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30‰). The results indicated that males showed no obvious preference for salinity, while females had obvious preference for different salinity and stronger dependence and tolerance to saltwater. Megalopas showed a significant preference for low salinity which was beneficial to migrating to freshwater quickly. It was speculated that the behavior of megalopas tending to freshwater was an inherited behavior in the evolutionary process rather than influenced by environment. The salinity preference of E. sinensis might change the position of spawning grounds and migratory routes, and then the annual fluctuation of salinity in Yangtze River estuary will affect the change of E. sinensis resources.

Human Papillomavirus Impact on Temporal Treatment Trends in Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: 2010–2016

Introduction: The study objective was to identify practice patterns in oropharyngeal cancer management from 2010 to 2016 among human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated and non-HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients. Methods: The National Cancer Database was utilized to identify OPSCC patients from 2010 to 2016. Frequency distributions and multivariable analyses were generated to identify practice patterns and predictors of treatment modality. Results: A total of 35,956 patients with nonmetastatic OPSCC were included. HPV status was not associated with a treatment modality preference. At academic centers, the proportion of HPV-associated OPSCC patients versus non-HPV-associated OPSCC patients undergoing surgical management was similar (35.7%; 35.9%). Community cancer programs treated patients less often surgically but with no significant treatment preference based on HPV status. Within each facility type, HPV status was not a predictor of surgical or nonsurgical management. Conclusion: HPV association does not appear to significantly influence treatment modality preference among OPSCC patients. The proportion of OPSCC patients undergoing surgical treatment declined from 2010 to 2016.

Teachers’ preferences for online professional development: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment

This paper reports on teachers' preferences for online professional development programmes in Indonesia. Relying on data from 330 university English teachers, the results of our discrete choice experiment suggest a significant positive preference for synchronous interaction but a negative preference for costly programmes, programmes offering no certificates of participation or completion, conducted over a longer period and using digital reading materials on teachers' preferences. Subgroup analyses also show that age, gender and experience with online professional development programmes influence teachers’ preferences. Based on these findings, implications for the design of online professional development and gaps for future research are discussed.

Preferences for private health insurance in China: A discrete choice experiment.

IntroductionThere is limited evidence on the sustainability and optimal design of China's private health insurance market, especially from the demand-side. With the increasing medical cost burden on both patients and the social security system, policy makers need data on potential clients' demand for private health insurance.MethodsA discrete choice experiment was conducted to explore potential clients' preferences for a type of government-involved private supplementary health insurance, Huimin Insurance, in China. A mixed logit model was used to evaluated participants' preferences for six attributes. Willingness to pay, subgroup analysis and interaction effects were estimated based on the initial model.ResultsAmong the 947 participants, 883 (93.2%) were aged 18 to 59 years and 578 (61.0%) were female. Participants had a strong preference for government involvement, extensive benefit packages, high reimbursement ratio and compensation for pre-existing conditions. With respect to the attribute of deductible, participants were indifferent between the level of CNY15,000 and CNY18,000 but had strong and significant preference for the level of CNY15,000 than CNY20,000. The premium was significantly correlated with a decline in the utility of PHI.ConclusionsAll attributes had a significant impact on participants' preference for Huimin Insurance. Providing a reference point for the development of private health insurance in China, our results inform the optimal design of PHI, especially Huimin Insurance's products.

Oviposition preferences of the oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to pear HIPVs

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are regarded as an indirect plant defense against herbivores, since they attract natural enemies to infested plants. On the other hand, HIPVs also affect behavioral responses of herbivores. In a previous study, Lytopylus rufipes, a parasitoid of the oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta), showed positive responses to pear HIPVs, but the influence of pear HIPVs on G. molesta is still unclear. To better understand these responses, we first tested oviposition preferences of G. molesta to uninfested and infested pear shoots (US and IS, respectively) and uninfested mature leaves (ML) in dual-choice bioassays using a cylindrical tube. Then, preferences to volatile components were also assessed. G. molesta females preferred US-, IS-, and ML-treated areas compared to the control area (no leaves), respectively. Subsequently, G. molesta females preferred IS over US, and US more than ML in bioassays. Furthermore, G. molesta females did not show any significant preference for individual volatile components, but more eggs were laid in an area treated with a synthetic pear HIPV blend, compared to the hexane-treated area (control). These results indicate that G. molesta females do not avoid infested pear shoots nor HIPVs. Moreover, HIPVs may recruit not only natural enemies, but also G. molesta females to the release point of HIPVs. Thus, it is important to examine responses of G. molesta females to HIPVs in the field before employing them for pest management.