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Table 1 Scope of our map of evidence syntheses according to PECO framework

From: Evidence base for non-genetic inheritance of environmental exposures in non-human animals and plants: a map of evidence syntheses with bibliometric analysis

 

Included

Excluded

Populations

• Evidence syntheses that included experimental studies on non-human species with clear separation of generations

• Evidence syntheses solely on humans or species that do not have clear separation of generations (e.g., reproduce through budding, fragmentation, or vegetative propagation)

• Evidence syntheses that only included correlational studies (i.e., did not include experimental studies)

Exposures

• Evidence syntheses that included F0 environmental exposures that fitted within the following categories:

(1) Diet

(2) Human-induced pollutants/toxins

(3) Natural variation in environmental composition (e.g., minerals and elements)

(4) Psychological stress

(5) Temperature

(6) ‘Human health risk’ (e.g., tobacco and alcohol)

(7) Population demographics (e.g., population density and sex ratio)

(8) Light and/or photoperiod

(9) Other

• Evidence syntheses that focused exclusively on human-related therapeutics/ pharmaceutical drugs such medicines and physical procedures (note that pharmaceuticals were included if they were within the context of environmental pollutants)

• Evidence syntheses that focused exclusively on F0 polyandry or genetic inheritance

Comparators

• Evidence syntheses that included a control environment (e.g., standard laboratory conditions) or two ‘levels’ of the same environment (e.g., warm versus cold temperature)

• Evidence syntheses that exclusively focused on different populations so effects could not be clearly attributed to specific environmental differences

• Evidence syntheses that only included correlational primary studies (i.e., did not include experimental studies)

Outcomes

• Evidence syntheses that included post-embryonic traits in the F1 or subsequent generations

• Evidence syntheses that included outcomes fitted into the following categories:

(1) Physiological

(2) Morphological

(3) Reproductive

(4) Life-history

(5) Behavioral

(6) Molecular

(7) Other

• Evidence syntheses that only focus on F0 fertility and fecundity such as offspring number

  1. Note that a few evidence syntheses included some primary studies that did not meet our eligibility criteria (e.g., included studies on humans) but these articles were included in our map if the article did not exclusively focus on primary studies that did not meet our criteria (i.e., if it included mostly primary literature that met our selection criteria)
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Environmental Evidence

ISSN: 2047-2382