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The cryosphere (including, snow, glaciers, permafrost, lake and river ice) is an integral element of high- mountain regions, which are home to roughly 10% of the global population. Widespread cryosphere changes affect physical, biological and human systems in the mountains and surrounding lowlands, with impacts evident even in the ocean. Building on the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), this chapter assesses new evidence on observed recent and projected changes in the mountain cryosphere as well as associated impacts, risks and adaptation measures related to natural and human systems. Impacts in response to climate changes independently of changes in the cryosphere are not assessed in this chapter. Polar mountains are included in Chapter 3, except those in Alaska and adjacent Yukon, Iceland, and Scandinavia, which are included in this chapter.

The concept of vulnerability is well established in the climate change literature, underpinning significant research effort. The ability of vulnerability research to capture the complexities of climate-society dynamics has been increasingly questioned, however. In this paper, we identify, characterize, and evaluate concerns over the use of vulnerability approaches in the climate change field based on a review of peer-reviewed articles published since 1990 (n = 587). Seven concerns are identified: neglect of social drivers, promotion of a static understanding of human-environment interactions, vagueness about the concept of vulnerability, neglect of cross-scale interactions, passive and negative framing, limited influence on decision-making, and limited collaboration across disciplines. Examining each concern against trends in the literature, we find some of these concerns weakly justified, but others pose valid challenges to vulnerability research. Efforts to revitalize vulnerability research are needed, with priority areas including developing the next generation of empirical studies, catalyzing collaboration across disciplines to leverage and build on the strengths of divergent intellectual traditions involved in vulnerability research, and linking research to the practical realities of decision-making.

The aim of this study was to examine our hypothesis that platelets of patients with breast cancer were functionally altered compared to healthy controls. The results have shown that the platelets from women with early breast cancer released significantly more vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) when stimulated with thrombin, tissue factor, clotting, or over a period of time. Similarly, release of thrombospondin (TSP) with thrombin and tissue factor was higher, but failed to reach a significant level. Thus, the observed differences in platelet response support our hypothesis, but warrant further work to determine the reason underlying the observed difference and potential clinical relevance of our findings.

Many studies have reported elevated serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with cancer and claimed that the measurement of circulating VEGF is a surrogate marker of angiogenesis and/or metastasis. To determine the value of VEGF measurement in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer, we measured levels in women with and without breast cancer. Platelet-depleted plasma VEGF levels were measured in premenopausal women at four-day intervals across the menstrual cycle, postmenopausal women and postmenopausal women who had undergone hysterectomy. Platelet-depleted plasma VEGF was also measured in pre- and postmenopausal women with early breast cancer (EBC) and levels compared with intratumoral levels, clinicopathological prognostic parameters and microvessel density. Levels of VEGF were determined using ELISA and immuno-histochemistry. Microvessel density was determined by immunohistochemical CD34 staining. Plasma VEGF in premenopausal women remained stable across the menstrual cycle except for a peak between days 8 and 12. VEGF levels in postmenopausal women were higher than in premenopausal women unless postmenopausal women had undergone hysterectomy. Amongst premenopausal women, levels of VEGF were high in 22 EBC patients when compared to normal premenopausal controls. No correlation was found between plasma and intratumoral VEGF, clinicopathological prognostic parameters or tumour microvessel density. The origin of circulating VEGF differs between pre- and postmenopausal women. Its measurement is unlikely to provide clinically useful diagnostic and prognostic information in women with early and advanced breast cancer.