What can crop stable isotopes ever do for us? An experimental perspective on using crop carbon stable isotope values for reconstructing water availability in semi-arid and arid environments

This study re-assesses and refines the use of crop carbon stable isotopes (Δ13C) to reconstruct past water availability. Durum wheat, six-row barley, and sorghum were experimentally grown at three crop growing stations in Jordan for up to three years under five different irrigation regimes: 0% (rainfall only), 40%, 80%, 100%, and 120% of the crops’ optimum water requirements. Results show large variation in carbon stable isotopes for crops that received similar amounts of water, either as absolute water input or as percentage of crop requirements. We conclude that C3 crop carbon stable isotope composition can therefore be best interpreted in terms of extremely high values showing an abundance of water versus low values indicating water-stress. Values in between these extremes are problematic and best interpreted in conjunction with other proxies. C4 crop isotopes were not found to be useful for the reconstruction of water availability

Genitourinary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) of the genitourinary tract are uncommon, but the pathologist has to be prepared to recognize them and to assess the morphophenotypic factors that can drive their treatment and prognosis. NENs have been described in the kidney, urinary bladder, prostate, testes, uterine cervix, uterine corpus, and ovaries. The clinico-pathological features and the nomenclature of these neoplasms may vary from site to site. This chapter systematically reviews the spectrum of genitourinary NEN within the context of a unitary vision of the diagnostic criteria and classification, paralleling the scheme recently proposed by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)