The Swedish winters 2009/10 and 2010/11 were rich in snow and many roofs collapsed, mainly largespan frames. Investigations were made and the amount of snow was not the primary cause, insteadthere were several other causes. One of these was that in some cases roofs were shoveled in anunfavorable manner which affected the load patterns negatively, so causing the roofs to collapse.Most people lack the knowledge of how shoveling will affect the roof. Had there been an increasedunderstanding regarding shoveling, some roofs could have been prevented from collapsing. Through both qualitative and quantitative research in the form of interviews and calculations thetheoretically best ways to shovel a selection of roof types is presented in the report. The roofstructures covered are 3-compartment, continuous and Gerberspliced metal roof decks. Thecalculations only concern the bending moments in the decks. The results show that differentmethods are required depending on the type of structure. Therefore it is very important to knowwhat kind of a building is to be shoveled. To ensure that this information should be easy to understand and apply, a template has beendesigned with tips and advice for the structural engineer on how to establish a plan for shoveling.The plan for shoveling should then be passed on to the property owner with instructions, tips andadvice on how to attend to his property before, during and after the snow has fallen.

An analysis of snow removal injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) revealed a persistent gender gap in injuries and deaths during snow clearing activities. In general, men, those who identified as White and those aged 60-79 represented the vast majority of injuries and deaths sustained during automated snow removal. Injuries and deaths from manual snow clearing had greater representation across gender lines, as well as across various age groups and race categories. This indicates that a greater cross-section of society relies on the standard shovel in comparison to the snow blower for snow removal. The most likely injuries sustained during shoveling were to the neck and back, while hand and finger injuries were far more common during the use of a snow blower. Similar percentages of cardiac (30%) and non-cardiac chest injuries (70%) were found for both manual and automated modes of snow removal. While the majority of cardiac chest injuries were in those aged 40-59 for shoveling and 60-79 for snow blowing, the majority of cardiac fatalities were in those aged 60-79 for both methods of snow removal. Daily all-cause mortality and daily deaths from acute heart attacks showed a weak but inverse relationship to daily maximum, minimum and average temperatures. Mortality related to temperatures had significant lag effects for two days. Daily all-cause and heart attack mortality were also significantly related to the depth of the existing snowpack. Snow to liquid ratios indicating differences between heavy, wet snow and dry, powdery snow were not significant. However, the water equivalent of the existing snowpack was significantly related to daily mortality. Comparisons between all age and elderly mortality showed weaker and opposite relationships for the elderly group suggesting the use of protective behaviors such as cold and snow avoidance.

Le shoveling de l'incisive centrale maxillaire est une caractéristique dentaire non-métrique utilisée en anthropologie comme indicateur des relations entre les populations. Ce trait morphologique dentaire est défini comme le degré d'élévation des crêtes mésiales et distales marginales sur la surface linguale des incisives maxillaires avec des formes plus prononcées renfermant une fosse. Plusieurs tentatives ont été faites pour classer et évaluer les différences de shoveling entre les populations humaines modernes et fossiles, en utilisant d'abord des approches descriptives détaillées et en élaborant par la suite des systèmes de notation ordinale des traits. A ce jour, la technique gold standard pour l'analyse du shoveling est basée sur une échelle ordinale de sept grades qui a été adaptée et intégrée à un système formel de notation des traits non métriques de la morphologie dentaire: le Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). Ce protocole standard est basé sur des plaques de plâtre de référence représentant les moulages de dents sélectionnées montrant un gradient d'expression d'un trait particulier. La notation ordinale, même si elle est contrôlée par des définitions strictes des caractéristiques, des références visuelles et l'expérience de l'observateur, comprend une part inévitable de subjectivité. De plus, les supports d'information conventionnels utilisés par ASUDAS peuvent entrainer des pertes d'information dans le temps. Dans un premier temps, nous avons élaboré une nouvelle approche morphométrique quantitative pour évaluer la variation du shoveling des incisives centrales maxillaires humaines modernes (UI1). Nous avons analysé par imagerie virtuelle 87 UI1 humaines modernes (Europe, Afrique, Asie) et les 7 UI1 de la plaque de référence ASU-UI1 en utilisant la morphométrie géométrique et le positionnement de points de repères glissants. Les résultats de la répartition du shoveling en fonction des populations selon notre nouvelle méthode morphométrique sont en étroite corrélation avec la répartition du shoveling largement décrite dans la littérature. En outre, nos résultats ont mis en évidence certaines limites dans l'utilisation des plaques ASUDAS, laissant supposer qu'elles ne représentent pas nécessairement un gradient objectif d'expression de cette caractéristique dentaire non métrique. [...] / The shoveling of the maxillary central incisor is a non-metric dental characteristic frequently used in anthropology as an indicator of population relations for its taxonomic and phylogenetic relevance for many decades. This dental morphological feature is defined as the degree of elevation of the mesial and distal marginal ridges on the lingual surface of the maxillary incisors, canines and mandibular incisors, with more pronounced pit-like forms. From the 19th century until today, several attempts have been made to classify and assess the shoveling differences between fossil and modern human populations, first using detailed descriptive approaches and later developing ordinal feature notation systems. The standard gold technique for shoveling analysis is based on a seven-grade ordinal scale that has been adapted and integrated into a formal system for scoring non-metric features of dental morphology: the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). This widely-used standard protocol is based on reference plaster plaques representing the casts of selected teeth showing a gradient of expression of a particular trait. Ordinal notation, even if controlled by strict definitions of characteristics, visual references, and observer experience, includes an inevitable element of subjectivity. Moreover, the conventional information support used by ASUDAS can lead to loss of information over time. Some researchers have attempted to reduce visual subjectivity by measuring the depth of lingual shoveling, but with little success in their results due to method accuracy problems. First, we developed a new quantitative morphometric approach to assess the shoveling variation of modern human maxillary central incisors (UI1). We analyzed by virtual imaging 87 modern human UI1 (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the 7 UI1 of the ASU-UI1 reference plaque using geometric morphometry and the positioning of sliding reference points. The results of the distribution of shoveling according to populations according to our new morphometric method are in close correlation with the distribution of shoveling widely described in the literature. In addition, our results showed some limitations in the use of ASUDAS plaques, suggesting that they do not necessarily represent an objective gradient of expression of this non-metric dental characteristic. [...]