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More than three decades have passed since the publication of Lamendin et al.'s proposal in 1992. Over this time, numerous investigations have been conducted to assess the applicability of the technique in different populations with acceptable results in terms of estimation errors. The proposal by Lamendin and colleagues remains relevant today, and has made a significant contribution to adult age-at-death estimation due to its simplicity, repeatability, replicability, and high performance. Indeed, significant progress towards systematizing and strengthening the procedure has been reported in the published literature. One noteworthy advancement is the development of an international database that supports the use of Bayesian statistics for age-at-death estimation. This resource plays a crucial role in standardizing the methodology and improving the reliability for obtaining more reliable results on a global scale. The aim of this study is to investigate the historical evolution of the technique, to assess the accuracy of the results obtained by different analytic procedures, and to explore its impact in forensic applications through a systematic analysis of the specialized literature on this field. The current state of research indicates that this type of methodological research is an ongoing process, far from being completed. Many questions and challenges that require further attention to address effectively these issues remain unanswered, such as the development of non-linear regressions and probabilistic approaches, the deepening of procedures that improve global approximations, and the intensification of research focused on achieving more accurate estimations among individuals over 70 years-old. However, studies generally agree that the Lamendin technique works well for individuals between the ages of 30-60 years. It is still in force today, although the method has been significantly perfected. Despite the degree of research development in this area, further efforts are needed to improve the understanding and performance of these kinds of procedures. This will ultimately lead to an improvement in the accuracy and reliability of forensic investigation results worldwide.

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BACKGROUND: Low vaccination rates and under-detection of pertussis infections in adolescents and young adults have an impact on the transmission of pertussis to infants. In this study, the proportion of adolescents and young adults with IgG antibodies against B. pertussis antigens, representing recent infection or vaccination, was estimated in a population-based probabilistic survey in Mexico. METHODS: Sera and data from 1,581 subjects, including 1,102 adolescents and 479 young adults (10-19 and 20-25 years old, respectively) randomly selected from Mexico's 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey, were analyzed. IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT) were measured with the CDC/FDA ELISA. A subset of 234 samples was additionally tested with Bp-IgG PT ELISA kit (EUROIMMUN AG, Lubeck, Germany). Threshold values from corresponding test kits were used to identify recent infection or vaccination. RESULTS: Overall anti-PT IgG seroprevalence was 3.9% (95% CI: 2.3-6.3); 3.1% (95% CI: 1.9-5.0) in adolescents, and 4.9% (95% CI: 2.2-11) in young adults. Seroprevalence did not significantly vary by sex, socioeconomic status, region or rural/urban location. Compared to the CDC/FDA ELISA, the EUROIMMUN test showed a 76% sensitivity and 88% specificity. The weighted estimates represent a considerable burden of recent infection in adolescents and young adults; however, most adolescents and adults were seronegative and, therefore, susceptible to pertussis infection. CONCLUSION: Since booster vaccination to B. pertussis after toddlerhood is not recommended in the Mexican national policy, anti-PT IgG seropositivity may be reasonably attributed to recent infection. Assessing pertussis seroprevalence requires careful consideration of the diagnostic test threshold interpretation and epidemiological model used.

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BACKGROUND: Acinetobacter baumannii has evolved from an opportunistic pathogen into a common and persistent nosocomial bacterium capable of causing severe infections during endemic and epidemic periods. METHODS: The study period extended from January 1999 to December 2011 and involved patients hospitalized at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, Jalisco, Mexico. From each patient, a single isolate was obtained, and a total of 3,680 unique isolates were collected. Susceptibility tests were performed according to the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. RESULTS: A. baumannii has disseminated throughout the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, since 1999. A. baumannii isolates obtained from patients treated in the adult intensive care unit represent the majority of the isolates that have been collected. In addition, A. baumannii was isolated from the adult neurosurgical ward and the adult internal medicine ward, and these isolates were frequently obtained from secretions. A persistent decrease in the susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates to meropenem (92% in 1999 to 12% in 2011), imipenem and amikacin has been observed. CONCLUSIONS: A. baumannii became an endemic nosocomial pathogen during the study period at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, and has exhibited a persistent decrease in susceptibility to all categories of antimicrobial agents over the past 13 years.

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The aim of the present study was to determine the bacteriological prevalence of subclinical non-typhi Salmonella infections in zoo animals and to determine the most frequently isolated serovars of the bacteria. A total of 267 samples were analyzed, including fecal samples from zoo animals and rodents, insects (Musca domestica and Periplaneta americana) and samples of the zoo animal's food. Salmonella was detected in 11.6% of the samples analyzed. Characterization of the isolates was performed with serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The following serovars were isolated: S. San Diego, S. Oranienburg, S. Weltevreden, S. Braenderup, S. Derby, S. 6,7, H:en x:- and S. 3,10, H:r:-. The isolates showed seven pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns with a Jaccard coefficient≥0.75 indicating a possible common origin. The prevalence of asymptomatic infections caused by Salmonella spp. in zoo animals was high. These findings demonstrate the diversity of Salmonella serovars in several captive wild animal species.

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