Live and Let Die? Life Cycle Human Health Impacts from the Use of Tire Studs

Cobalt nanoparticles trigger ferroptosis-like cell death (oxytosis) in neuronal cells: Potential implications for neurodegenerative disease

The neurotoxicity of hard metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) remains poorly understood. Here, we deployed the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y differentiated or not into dopaminergic- and cholinergic-like neurons to study the impact of tungsten carbide (WC) NPs, WC NPs sintered with cobalt (Co), or Co NPs versus soluble CoCl₂ . Co NPs and Co salt triggered a dose-dependent cytotoxicity with an increase in cytosolic calcium, lipid peroxidation, and depletion of glutathione (GSH). Co NPs and Co salt also suppressed glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) mRNA and protein expression. Co-exposed cells were rescued by N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of GSH, and partially by liproxstatin-1, an inhibitor of lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, in silico analyses predicted a significant correlation, based on similarities in gene expression profiles, between Co-containing NPs and Parkinson's disease, and changes in the expression of selected genes were validated by RT-PCR. Finally, experiments using primary human dopaminergic neurons demonstrated cytotoxicity and GSH depletion in response to Co NPs and CoCl₂ with loss of axonal integrity. Overall, these data point to a marked neurotoxic potential of Co-based but not WC NPs and show that neuronal cell death may occur through a ferroptosis-like mechanism.

How to trade safety against cost, time and other impacts of road safety measures

Public policy, including road safety policy, involves balancing competing values against each other. Several techniques of policy analysis, most prominently cost-benefit analysis, have been developed to help policy makers prioritize between different values. Valuation studies have not produced credible monetary values of life and limb. Cost-benefit analysis therefore cannot tell when the "right" balance has been struck between road safety and other objectives of transport policy. All formal tools of policy analysis are likely to reflect analyst values to a major extent, not the values of policy makers only. It is argued that policy choices and tradeoffs can be informed simply by providing factual information about impacts and not attempting to impose any value judgements. A widely applicable metric is to state impacts as changes in human longevity and health state.