Continued progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and associated demonstrations of superhuman performance have raised the expectation that AI can revolutionize scientific discovery in general and materials science specifically. We illustrate the success of machine learning (ML) algorithms in tasks ranging from machine vision to game playing and describe how existing algorithms can also be impactful in materials science, while noting key limitations for accelerating materials discovery. Issues of data scarcity and the combinatorial nature of materials spaces, which limit application of ML techniques in materials science, can be overcome by exploiting the rich scientific knowledge from physics and chemistry using additional AI techniques such as reasoning, planning, and knowledge representation. The integration of these techniques in materials-intelligent systems will enable AI governance of the scientific method and autonomous scientific discovery.

The objective of this study was to determine the serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) strains in children from Lima, Peru, before and after the introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), which was introduced in the national immunisation program on 2009. We conducted a prospective, multicentre, passive surveillance IPD study during 2006–2008 and 2009–2011, before and right after the introduction of PCV7 in Peru. The study was performed in 11 hospitals and five private laboratories in Lima, Peru, in patients <18 years old, with sterile site cultures yielding Streptococcus pneumoniae. In total 159 S. pneumoniae isolates were recovered. There was a decrease in the incidence of IPD in children <2 years old after the introduction of PCV7 (18.4/100 000 vs. 5.1/100 000, P = 0.004). Meningitis cases decreased significantly in the second period (P = 0.036) as well as the overall case fatality rate (P = 0.025), including a decreased case fatality rate of pneumonia (16.3% to 0%, P = 0.04). PCV7 serotypes showed a downward trend. Vaccine-preventable serotypes caused 78.9% of IPD cases, mainly 14, 6B, 5, 19F and 23F. A non-significant increase in erythromycin resistance was reported. Our findings suggest that the introduction of PCV7 led to a significant decrease of IPD in children under 2 years old and in the overall case fatality rate.

The care of patients with CHD remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries. Their health systems have not been able to achieve consistently high performance in this field. The large volume of patients, manpower constraints, inconsistencies in the level and type of background training of the teams caring for this patient population, and the inadequate quality control systems are some of the barriers to achieving excellence of care. We describe three different international projects supporting the paediatric cardiac surgical and paediatric cardiac intensive care programmes in Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean.

TAOS II is a next-generation occultation survey with the goal of measuring the size distribution of the small end of the Kuiper Belt (objects with diameters 0.5–30 km). Such objects have magnitudes r > 30, and are thus undetectable by direct imaging. The project will operate three telescopes at San Pedro Mártir Observatory in Baja California, México. Each telescope will be equipped with a custom-built camera comprised of a focal-plane array of CMOS imagers. The cameras will be capable of reading out image data from 10,000 stars at a cadence of 20 Hz. The telescopes will monitor the same set of stars simultaneously to search for coincident occultation detections, thus minimising the false-positive rate. This talk described the project, and reported on the progress of the development of the survey infrastructure.

Childhood overweight and obesity are worldwide public health problems and risk factors for chronic diseases. The presence of SNP in several genes has been associated with the presence of obesity. A total of 580 children (8–13 years old) from Queretaro, Mexico, participated in this cross-sectional study, which evaluated the associations of rs9939609 (fat mass obesity-associated (FTO)), rs17782313 (melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R)) and rs6548238 (transmembrane protein 18 (TMEM18)) SNP with obesity and metabolic risk factors. Overweight and obesity prevalence was 19·8 and 19·1 %, respectively. FTO, MC4R and TMEM18 risk allele frequency was 17, 9·8 and 89·5 %, respectively. A significant association between FTO homozygous and MC4R heterozygous risk alleles and obesity was found (OR 3·9; 95 % CI 1·46, 10·22, and OR 2·1; 95 % CI 1·22, 3·71; respectively). The FTO heterozygous subjects showed higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures, compared with the homozygous for the ancestral allele subjects. These results remain significant after considering adiposity as a covariate. The FTO and MC4R genotypes were not significantly associated with total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and insulin concentration. No association was found between TMEM18 risk allele and obesity and/or metabolic alterations. Our results show that, in addition to a higher BMI, there is also an association of the risk genotype with blood pressure in the presence of the FTO risk genotype. The possible presence of a risk genotype in obese children must be considered to offer a more comprehensive therapeutic approach in order to delay and/or prevent the development of chronic diseases.

In response to rapidly growing rates of comorbidity among psychiatric disorders, clinical scientists have become interested in identifying transdiagnostic processes that can help explain dysfunction across diagnostic categories (e.g., Kring & Sloan, 2009). One factor that has received a great deal of attention is that of emotion regulation, namely, the ability to modulate the intensity and/or duration of emotional states (e.g., Cicchetti, Ackerman, & Izard, 1995; Gross, 1998). Recent theoretical and empirical work has begun to emphasize the role that emotion regulation plays in the temporal comorbidity between internalizing and externalizing conditions (e.g., Aldao & De Los Reyes, 2015; De Los Reyes & Aldao, 2015; Drabick & Kendall, 2010; Jarrett & Ollendick, 2008; Patrick & Hajcak, 2016). However, close inspection of this work reveals two very pertinent areas of growth: (a) this literature is characterized by mixed findings that are likely explained, in part, by methodological heterogeneity; and (b) emotion regulation tends to be studied in relatively narrow terms. To address these issues, we provide a series of recommendations for facilitating cross-study comparisons and leveraging multifaceted approaches to studying emotion regulation processes within a developmental psychopathology framework. We hope that our perspective can enhance the organization and growth of this very important area of inquiry, and ultimately result in more effective prevention and treatment programs.

It has been reported that the addition of liquid rubbers, like poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), to epoxy resins alter the final morphology, increase the toughness and influence the curing kinetics. Due to immiscibility, there is phase separation of the elastomeric phase during curing giving rise to microdomains embedded in the epoxic matrix. The resultant heterogeneous morphology obtained after the reaction controls to an important extent the properties of the epoxy composite. Here we report a method to obtain well-dispersed rubber nanodomains of silyl-diglycidyl ether terminated polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS-DGE) in diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy by using a prepolymerization step. Light scattering and optical microscopy showed that initial mixing of pre-polymerized rubber produced phase separation with micron-scale droplet formation. However, as the curing reaction proceeded, the rubber domains decreased below optical resolution, light scattering intensity reached a maximum and then decreased. Finally, rubber nanodomains of about 100 nm size were formed at the end of curing reaction, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The pre-polymerization step induced a two-fold increase in gel time, t gel , due to lesser active groups available for reaction. Strikingly, tensile modulus and toughness increased, suggesting rubber-epoxy interaction. The final nanocomposite also exhibited higher thermal stability and char formation.

Nowadays the aeronautical industry keeps strict quality standards in its dimensional specifications, mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics. Therefore, the involved manufacturing processes require keeping high standards. The nickel based superalloys are present in many components of the jet engines, being the Inconel 718MR superalloy the most common, making up to 50% of the jet engine. This is designed to resist high temperatures, corrosion and creep. The process of rotary forging is a manufacturing process that is currently under scientific and technological development in the aeronautical industry. An Avrami model coupled with a commercial FEM platform (DEFORMTM 3D) was developed to evaluate the average grain size, as a function of the working conditions at 980 °C and 1000 °C. The results provide a better understanding of the influence of temperature in the grain size evolution during the rotary forging process, compared with previous reports.

Dynamic mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) and grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) composites reinforced with acetylated wheat straw fibers (WSF) is reported in this work. The materials were prepared with different fiber particle sizes (40, 80 and 140 U.S. mesh) and at different fiber contents (5, 10 and 15 wt.%). The PP and PP-g-MA composites, where anhydride maleic (MA) was used as coupling agent, were obtained using a twin-screw extruder; whereas an injection-molding machine molded the composite pellets into testing specimens. To observe the morphology of the composites, micrographs were taken with an optical microscope. The Dynamic mechanical properties were analyzed using a torsional rheometer. The morphological analysis showed a high porous structure somehow similar to foamed materials. The storage modulus (G′) increased by increasing the fiber content, and decreased with fiber particle sizes for the PP composites. Meanwhile, the use of the coupling agent additive promoted a modulus increase due to higher fiber-polymer interaction, from better adhesion and chemical bonds formation between the fibers-coupling agent-PP.

The Bastion of San Pedro is part of the defensive infrastructure projected by Spanish colonizers in San Francisco de Campeche City, in order to protect the city and their inhabitants from pirates who ravaged the region during the XVIth and XIXth centuries. The bastion is a masonry structure built by using calcareous materials according the Spanish procedures from the edge. Since its construction, it has been under the synergetic interaction of natural and anthropogenic factors that promote degradation. In this study optical microscopy (MO) and scanning electron microscopy coupled to a dispersive analysis system (SEM/EDS) were used in order to analyze the stratigraphic profile of mortar weathered samples collected from walls of the Bastion of San Pedro. According the results, the samples were formed by three substrata: an upper external layer in contact with the environment (100 to 300 µm), the other one is an inner layer with thickness around 100 to 400 µm. The last substrate was formed by the mortar matrix composed by elements such as C, O, Ca, Si and Al, that indicate their mineral origin. By the other hand, it is important to note that the upper layer contained higher proportion of C respect to the other layers. It is probably major consequence of biomass encrustation rather that atmospheric pollution according to the particular environmental conditions surrounding the building.

In this study electrochemical and surface analysis were carried out in order to provide preliminary information to diagnose the state of conservation of two bronze bells from two Colonial religious building from San Francisco de Campeche City: The Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción and the Ex-temple of San José. Small corroded bronze samples were retired from each bell and analyzed by using optical microscopy in order to observe the distribution of the oxides over metal surface. Complementary XRD analysis was used to identify crystalline phases formed as a consequence of bells interaction with the urban tropical environment of this city. Electrochemical techniques such as linear polarization resistance (Rp) and potentiodynamic curve (CP) were conducted “in situ” in order to evaluate the behavior of bell bronze patinas under the action of two artificial solutions that recreate typical electrolyte formed over corroded metal surfaces in urban environments.