The associations between autistic characteristics and microtransaction spending.

Microtransactions provide optional, virtual, video game goods that, for an additional cost to the player, provide additional game content and alter the gameplay experience. Loot boxes-a specific form of microtransaction-offer randomised rewards in exchange for payment, and are argued to be structurally and psychologically similar to gambling. Nascent research suggests that a link exists between autism and both problematic gaming and problematic gambling.

Assessment of doses in contaminated urban areas: modelling exercise based on Fukushima data.

State-of-the-art dose assessment models were applied to estimate doses to the population in urban areas contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Assessment results were compared among five models, and comparisons of model predictions with actual measurements were also made. Assessments were performed using both probabilistic and deterministic approaches.

Modelling the atmospheric dispersion of radiotracers in small-scale, controlled detonations: validation of dispersion models using field test data.

A series of modelling exercises, based on field tests conducted in the Czech Republic, were carried out by the 'Urban' Working Groups as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety II, Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessment (MODARIA) I and MODARIA II international data compilation and model validation programmes. In the first two of these programmes, data from a series of field tests involving dispersion of a radiotracer,Tc, from small-scale, controlled detonations were used in a comparison of model predictions with field measurements of deposition. In the third programme, data from a similar field test, involving dispersion ofLa instead ofTc, were used.

Urban working groups in the IAEA's model testing programmes: overview from the MODARIA I and MODARIA II programmes.

The IAEA's model testing programmes have included a series of Working Groups concerned with modelling radioactive contamination in urban environments. These have included the Urban Working Group of Validation of Environmental Model Predictions (1988-1994), the Urban Remediation Working Group of Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) (2003-2007), the Urban Areas Working Group of EMRAS II (2009-2011), the Urban Environments Working Group of (Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments) MODARIA I (2013-2015), and most recently, the Urban Exposures Working Group of MODARIA II (2016-2019). The overarching objective of these Working Groups has been to test and improve the capabilities of computer models used to assess radioactive contamination in urban environments, including dispersion and deposition processes, short-term and long-term redistribution of contaminants following deposition events, and the effectiveness of various countermeasures and other protective actions, including remedial actions, in reducing contamination levels, human exposures, and doses to humans.

An assessment of the doses received by members of the public in Japan following the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011, centred off the east coast of Japan, caused considerable destruction and substantial loss of life along large swathes of the Japanese coastline. The tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP), resulting in prolonged releases of radioactive material into the environment. This paper assesses the doses received by members of the public in Japan.

Modelling remediation options for urban contamination situations.

The impact on a population from an event resulting in dispersal and deposition of radionuclides in an urban area could be significant, in terms of both the number of people affected and the economic costs of recovery. The use of computer models for assessment of urban contamination situations and remedial options enables the evaluation of a variety of situations or alternative recovery strategies in contexts of preparedness or decision-making. At present a number of models and modelling approaches are available for different purposes.

Modelling of a large-scale urban contamination situation and remediation alternatives.

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) program was organized to address issues of remediation assessment modelling for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. The present paper describes the first of two modelling exercises, which was based on Chernobyl fallout data in the town of Pripyat, Ukraine. Modelling endpoints for the exercise included radionuclide concentrations and external dose rates at specified locations, contributions to the dose rates from individual surfaces and radionuclides, and annual and cumulative external doses to specified reference individuals.

Improvement of modelling capabilities for assessing urban contamination: the EMRAS Urban Remediation Working Group.

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) programme was established to improve modelling and assessment capabilities for radioactively contaminated urban situations, including the effects of countermeasures. An example of the Working Group's activities is an exercise based on Chernobyl fallout data in Ukraine, which has provided an opportunity to compare predictions among several models and with available measurements, to discuss reasons for discrepancies, and to identify areas where additional information would be helpful.

New developments to support decision-making in contaminated inhabited areas following incidents involving a release of radioactivity to the environment.

The Chernobyl accident demonstrated that releases from nuclear installations can lead to significant contamination of large inhabited areas. A new generic European decision support handbook has been produced on the basis of lessons learned on the management of contaminated inhabited areas. The handbook comprises detailed descriptions of 59 countermeasures in a standardised datasheet format, which facilitates a comparison of features.