These proceedings aim to show the vitality and significance of nuclear science. The focus is the promotion of Nuclear Physics and its applications among Latin American laboratories and the international community. This Volume covers six main topics: Applications of Nuclear Physics, QCD in Nuclear Physics, Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos, Nuclear Structure and Reactions, Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics, and Facilities and Instrumentation.

The book focuses on two concurrent experimental therapies in cancer treatment known as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and gadolinium neutron capture therapy (GdNCT) using a variety of boron- and gadolinium-based compounds. Some of the gadolinium compounds serve the dual purpose as being MRI contrast agents and GdNCT agents. The book describes why BNCT & GdNCT were not at the forefront of the clinical trials during the past seven to eight decades since the discovery of neutrons by John Chadwick in 1932 and how the latest development in the synthesis of target boron- and gadolinium-based drugs has turned the area into the hottest one worthy of further investigation with the new clinical trials in the USA and elsewhere.