Plant photosynthesis and biomass production are associated with the amount of intercepted light, especially the light distribution inside the canopy. Three virtual canopies (n = 80, 3.25 plants/m2) were constructed based on average leaf size of the digitized plant structures: ‘small leaf’ (98.1 cm2), ‘medium leaf’ (163.0 cm2) and ‘big leaf’ (241.6 cm2). The ratios of diffuse light were set in three gradients (27.8%, 48.7%, 89.6%). The simulations of light interception were conducted under different ratios of diffuse light, before and after the normalization of incident radiation. With 226.1% more diffuse light, the result of light interception could increase by 34.4%. However, the 56.8% of reduced radiation caused by the increased proportion of diffuse light inhibited the advantage of diffuse light in terms of a 26.8% reduction in light interception. The big-leaf canopy had more mutual shading effects, but its larger leaf area intercepted 56.2% more light than the small-leaf canopy under the same light conditions. The small-leaf canopy showed higher efficiency in light penetration and higher light interception per unit of leaf area. The study implied the 3D structural model, an effective tool for quantitative analysis of the interaction between light and plant canopy structure.
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Although stressors are frequently linked to several negative health outcomes, experiencing stressors may be necessary for enhancing performance. At present, the literature is lacking a unified, comprehensive framework that accounts for both positive and negative outcomes following stressors. Therefore, we introduce the framework of hormesis, which has been applied in biological research for decades. According to hormesis, small-to-medium doses of a stressor can stimulate an organism's response, while large doses cause detrimental effects. In this article, we argue that these dose-response dynamics can be found in various domains of performance psychology (i.e., eustress and distress, psychological momentum, emotions, motivation, confidence, cognitive performance, training, skill acquisition, adversity, and trauma). Furthermore, hormesis also accounts for the inter- and intra-individual variability commonly found in responses to stressors. Finally, from an applied perspective, leveraging hormesis may stimulate new psychological interventions that mimic the well-known effects of (toxic) vaccinations at the level of behavior.
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We investigated the relationship between process quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and children’s socio-emotional development in a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Our multi-level meta-analysis of 31 publications reporting on 16 longitudinal studies (N = 17,913 children, age: 2.5–18 yrs) demonstrates that the process quality of ECEC is a small but significant predictor of children’s socio-emotional development over time (ES = 0.103, SE = 0.026, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.052–0.155). This longitudinal association extends to the age of 18 years in our sample. Process quality of ECEC is, thus, a significant and stable predictor of children’s socio-emotional development and well-being from toddlerhood to adolescence. The longitudinal relationship was moderated by the type of care (center-based vs. home-based) and the informant (parent, professional caregiver, external assessor, or self-report of the child). Implications for future ECEC research are discussed.
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