The inaccuracy of determining overcrowding status by using the national ED overcrowding study tool.

Background: Emergency department (ED) crowding has become more common, and perceptions of crowding vary among different health care providers. The National Emergency Department Overcrowding Study (NEDOCS) tool is the most commonly used tool to estimate ED crowding but still uncertain of its reliability in different ED settings.

Objective: The objectives of this study are to determine the accuracy of using the NEDOCS tool to evaluate overcrowding in an extremely high-volume ED and assess the reliability and consistency of different providers' perceptions of ED crowding.

Mapping out regions on the surface of the aspartate receptor that are essential for kinase activation.

The aspartate receptor of bacterial chemotaxis is representative of a large family of taxis receptors widespread in prokaryotes. The homodimeric receptor associates with cytoplasmic components to form a receptor-kinase signaling complex. Within this complex the receptor is known to directly contact the histidine kinase CheA, the coupling protein CheW, and other receptor dimers.