For the purposes of a high-resolution multi-disciplinary study of the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation, two boreholes were drilled at Swanworth Quarry and one at Metherhills, south Dorset, UK. Together, the cores represent the first complete section through the entire formation close to the type section. We present graphic logs that record the stratigraphy of the cores, and outline the complementary geophysical and analytical data sets (gamma ray, magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, carbonate, δ13Corg). Of particular note are the new borehole data from the lowermost part of the formation which does not crop out in the type area. Detailed logs are available for download from the Kimmeridge Drilling Project web-site at http://kimmeridge.earth.ox.ac.uk/. Of further interest is a mid-eudoxus Zone positive shift in the δ13Corg record, a feature that is also registered in Tethyan carbonate successions, suggesting that it is a regional event and may therefore be useful for correlation. The lithostratigraphy of the cores has been precisely correlated with the nearby cliff section, which has also been examined and re-described. Magnetic-susceptibility and spectral gamma-ray measurements were made at a regular spacing through the succession, and facilitate core-to-exposure correlation. The strata of the exposure and core have been subdivided into four main mudrock lithological types: (a) medium-dark–dark-grey marl; (b) medium-dark–dark grey–greenish black shale; (c) dark-grey–olive-black laminated shale; (d) greyish-black–brownish-black mudstone. The sections also contain subordinate amounts of siltstone, limestone and dolostone. Comparison of the type section with the cores reveals slight lithological variation and notable thickness differences between the coeval strata. The proximity of the boreholes and different parts of the type section to the Purbeck–Isle of Wight Disturbance is proposed as a likely control on the thickness changes.

Sequence‐stratigraphic interpretation of mudrocks is often carried out using proxy indicators for grain size or by consideration of other aspects of lithology thought to relate to sea‐level change, such as organic‐matter content. An alternative stratigraphic analysis, based on direct estimation of quartz‐silt content, was carried out on a major Late Jurassic mudrock (and oil source rock), the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the Wessex Basin, Dorset, UK. The new data, generated by backscatter SEM, X‐ray and image analysis, show decametre‐scale stratigraphic patterns that are incompatible with many previous sequence‐stratigraphic interpretations based on gamma‐ray logs or visual lithofacies and biofacies description. Correlation with a basin‐margin section in the Boulonnais, northern France, indicates that silt‐rich intervals in basinal facies are coeval, within the limits of biostratigraphic resolution, with shallow‐water sand‐rich packages on the margin. Variation in silt content in the Kimmeridge Clay therefore appears to be a record of relative sea‐level change of at least regional extent. It is suggested that analysis of silt content offers the most reliable basis for generation of a regional sequence stratigraphy in basinal mudrocks. A revised relative sea‐level curve for the Wessex Basin Kimmeridgian and early Tithonian is presented based on this premise.

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Objectives: Hospitals around the United States are advertising emergency department (ED) wait times. The objective was to measure the difference between publicly posted and actual ED wait times and to compare these between ED site volumes.Methods: This study was a retrospective consecutive sample of ED patients at one hospital system with four EDs. The wait times of 8,889 patients were included in this analysis. One ED was in a large teaching hospital with 5,000 ED patients per month; the other three were freestanding or community EDs without teaching and with fewer than 2,000 ED patients per month each. The publicly posted ED wait times at the time of patient arrival were recorded and compared to the actual wait times as retrieved from the ED tracking system. The difference between posted and actual wait times for each site was calculated. Separate one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests with post hoc testing were conducted to assess actual wait time and wait time difference between ED sites.Results: Mean and standard deviation (SD) wait time difference at the main ED with a volume of 5,000 patients per month was 31.5 (AE61.2) minutes. At the facilities with fewer than 2,000 ED patients per month each, the differences in wait times were 4.2 (AE21.8), 8.6 (AE23.8), and 1.3 (AE11.9) minutes. ANOVA results revealed that the main ED had significantly different actual wait time and wait time differences (p < 0.05) when compared to the other three EDs. Conclusions:In one hospital system, publicly posted ED wait times show better accuracy in EDs that see 2,000 or fewer patients per month and less accuracy for an ED that sees 5,000 patients per month, likely due to flow confounders. 1-8 This is a marketing campaign to compete for patients who are assumed to have more discretionary income and less discretionary time. It also attempts to create an orderly distribution of patient flow across available capacity. Decreased wait times are good for the patient. If the posted wait times get the patient to the most appropriate ED and the shortest wait, then both the ED and the patient benefit.A literature review failed to reveal any studies examining the accuracy of these increasingly frequent postings. This study analyzed the accuracy of publicly posted ED wait times. We also measured the difference between publicly posted and actual wait times at three different types of EDs. METHODS Study DesignThis was a cross-sectional observational analysis of ED posted wait times compared to actual patient wait times. The study was approved by the institutional review board at Akron General Medical Center. Study Setting and PopulationData were gathered from four separate EDs in a single hospital system in Akron, Ohio: the main ED, two freestanding EDs (FEDs), and a community hospital (CED). The main ED was an urban teaching hospital, a Level I trauma center, an accredited chest pain center, and an

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