Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

After the expulsion of Jesuits from Spain and their kingdoms by Carlos III in 1767, Pedro José Márquez settled in the Pontifical States along with his brothers of Order. In exile, the Americans faced the racial grievances of the Europeans, who boasted about the superiority of the inhabitants of the Old World. In this hostile environment towards foreigners, the Jesuits decided to defend the aggrieved homeland in their writings. This essay will reveal the erudition in architectural matters of father Márquez in the European culture. Moreover, it will expose the audacious response to the offences the prestigious Italian architect Francesco Milizia asserted about American architecture at the end of the 18th century.

This theoretical and applied research analyses the microclimate of Chamberí Square in Madrid, a city with an intense Urban Heat Island effect. Contact temperature of finishing materials of facades, pavements, and urban furniture were measured. Dry air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity and direction were measured too, both in the sun and in the shade. Shading and solar radiation simulations were carried out by constructing a 3D model defining finishing materials’ properties, vegetation, and existing trees. Public space users were also located, and their activities registered. The obtained data wascompared to a traditional bioclimatic study. It is concluded that these studies are effective to design comfortable urban spaces because they are useful in order to create alternative microclimates. Field measurements reveal essential sun radiation and shading studies in urban design for a proper selection and location of materials with a variety of thermal properties and for the correct use of natural soils, vegetation, and water. The comfort strategies defined by traditional bioclimatic tools and the real use of urban space do not come together. Noticeable differences between historical climate data, estate weatherstation, and local measurements are detected. The Urban Heat Island of the square is numerically defined.

In Colombia, the inclusion of bioclimatic strategies in the architectural design process is not usually done in earlier design phases but in the middle or final phases, when few changes can be made due to the progress of the Project. This paper highlights the importance of considering useful tools or methods to take architectural decisions based on bioclimatic criteria from earliest phases of the project process so that bioclimatic design becomes a project premise and a reason that affects the image and functionality. This paper explains a method for the inclusion of solar control elements of a roof over a plaza located in the city of Medellín, Colombia (Latitude: 6°15’6.62” N, Longitude: 75°33’48.92” O, Altitude: 1500 m.a.s.l) as part of the Bioclimatic Studies, a project knownas Bazar de los Puentes. The project, designed by the Architect Sebastián Monsalve Gómez for the Urban Development Company (EDU in Spanish), is part of the plan for the strategic recovery of several urban sectors in the city. The method allowed the group of architects to configure the roofing system according to the shade convenience.

Currently, the attainment of a liveable environment requires the use of non-renewable, scarce, and pollutant energy. In order to decrease the consumption of energy as well asincrease the use of renewable energies, it is necessary to explore procedures for efficient analysis. Bioclimatic analysis is the appropriate technique to optimize the response of a building to climate. Consequently, the article examines the existing difficulties to its smooth/correct implementation. Through the gathering of initiatives stemming from theauthor’s technical and professional activity as well as from an extensive bibliographic review, the article introduces an improvement to the knowledge of the multiple fields that define the discipline of bioclimatic analysis. Specifically, the analysis of vernacular architecture, the suitable definition of the local climatic conditions, the identification of the most appropriate reference values to reach indoor comfort, and the definition of patterns for the design and bioclimatic characterization of buildings materials and constructive systems. In addition, the article includes the development of building strategies and practices, the standardisation and application of means of verification “in situ” of the bioclimatic performance of a building, and the validation of computerisedprocesses that predict the degree of habitability of a building. Finally, the knowledge acquired in the prior fields is incorporated in the regulatory framework as well as theestablishment of operating conditions and maintenance requirements that capitalise on the implementation of the aforementioned bioclimatic analysis. The article establishesthe need to embrace the progress made in these fields to improve the performance of buildings and achieve a superior habitability with a lower consumption of resources.

Studies conducted in the field and in a laboratory show that cold roof coatings contribute to reduce heat transferability that occur through the roofs, which are one of the main causes of thermal discomfort in hot and humid climates. However, there is not enough research to quantify its benefits in tropical climates, and it lacks technical precision in many advertising material of the products available in the market. Therefore, in order to reduce this knowledge gap, this study analyzed the thermal behavior of galvanized iron sheets with zinc before and after applying a cold coating in the field. The surface temperature of the material was used as an indicator. During the two months that the experiment lasted, 95 observations were made at different times of the day where the surface temperature of the sheet with and without coating was measured, and the time and cloudiness of the sky were recorded. The results show that the sheet, in which the coating was applied, has a lower average temperature of 0.85 °C. This difference is statistically significant (p = 0.037) and is independent of the time of day and the cloudiness of the sky. However, the temperature differential is lower than previous studies found.

In tropical developing countries, the considerations of energy efficiency and quality of school buildings are minimal, compromising the conditions of internal comfort. This paper explores the effects on thermal comfort and energy generated by performing parametric variations on the typical configuration of naturally ventilated classrooms in tropical Costa Rica. Using dynamic simulations by Design Builder, weather data, and surveys of comfort, classrooms with the same design pattern in three locations prone to overheating were analyzed. Energy demand and improving the operating temperature of the enclosure by varying bioclimatic parameters of passive cooling and solar control were reviewed. The results indicate that certain configurations can optimize the performance of the typology of cases studied. The impact of choosing appropriate design parameters and the use of simulation tools in verifying building performance is demonstrated.

Adaptation to climate has played an essential role in the history of architectural design and is becoming even more important in times of climate change. However, contemporary buildings and structures, as in the case of tensioned membrane structures, often lack the cycling process of adaptation that traditional constructions have undergone over time. The objective of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the principles and strategies that enhance the climatic performance of tensioned membrane structures in the Tropics. The study focusses on the proposal of specific design strategies for the early design stage ofmembrane projects. The strategies are based on passive and bioclimatic principles to create thermal comfort conditions without additional energy input. In the first part of this article, an overview of the development and use of membrane structures in the tropical regions is outlined, highlighting formal and functional requirements of geometry and material. In the second part, the climatic elements which are relevant to thermal comfort in the Tropics are addressed with specific design strategies and synthesized by schematic diagrams and drawings, showing different design solutions for geometries and details of typicalmembrane structures. In the third part, three case studies are presented, exemplifying the analytic processes and implemented design strategies in a real case scenario. The study concludes with passive design guidelines applied to membrane structures and argues for a climate-adaptive design approach of light-weight architecture in tropical regions.

The balanced growth between the natural and built environment is crucial for the sustainability of a society. With the current scenarios of the urban growth rate increasing in most of the cities around the world, the development of ecosystems that provide services to support cities becomes necessary. These services can range from economic processes with losses or profits to the perception of an inhabitant’s wellbeing. This research project assesses seven ecosystem services (ES) in the city of Quetzaltenango and analyzes the consumption of unplanned urban growth. The lack of knowledge, prioritization, land access, economic conditions, and adequate governance of regional and landscape planning are the main factors that those who are involved in makingdecisions regarding land use do not give importance to the ES. As a result, these actions produce natural environment deterioration represented by annual economic losses. In addition, this study presents hypothetical scenarios for an ecosystem recovery, leading urban development towards a natural-cultural symbiosis.

Introduction: Despite antiretroviral therapy, it is still common to find the presence of opportunistic infections such as enteroparasites, which cause a big impact on the health and economy of patients.Objetive: To determine the frequency, etiology and factors associated with enteroparasitosis in patients with HIV at a reference hospital in Lambayeque, Peru.Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in diarrheic patients with HIV infection in a hospital in Lambayeque from January to June, 2016. The study was a census. Both the collection and transport as well as the analysis of the samples followed the recommendations of the Manual of procedures for the diagnosis of human parasitosis of the National Institute of Health.Results: The meadian age was 28 years, the male sex predominated, and the percentage of parasitism was 73.08%. Patients with viral load >1000 were 69.2% and patients with HAART were 55.8%. Blastocystis hominis was the most frequent parasite (30.77%), followed by Cryptosporidium spp. and Cystoisospora belli with 21.2% and 11.5%, respectively. The bivariate analysis between viral load and HAART with parasitism, demonstrated an association with parasitism.Conclusions: Enteroparasitosis is frequent in patients with HIV and diarrhea, predominating opportunistic infections over non opportunistic ones. Keywords: Parasitosis; Cystoisospora; HIV; HAART; CD4; Blastocystis hominis

Introduction: Eosinophilic meningitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen, 1935) is an emergent zoonosis present in Cuba. In the country, few studies about the prevalence of infection in definitive hosts, which can determine risk sites for the establishment of effective measures to prevent the disease, have not been carried out so far. Objective: To determine the prevalence of infection with Angiostrongylus cantonensis in a natural population of Rattus rattus, its relationship with the population structure, and the season of the year in an urban farm field belonging to the Programme of Urban and Suburban Agriculture of Cuba. Material and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in La Lisa Municipality, Havana, Cuba. The rats were collected monthly during the rainy and dry seasons. The pulmonary arteries of the captured rodents were examined for adult worms. The prevalence of parasitological indices was calculated. The frequencies of infection were compared between the seasons of the year and ecological ages. Results: A total of 63 rodents identified as Rattus rattus were captured. Of the total of individuals captured, 46.03% were infected with A. cantonensis, with an increase of infection in adult individuals (59.46%) and during the rainy season (55.88%). Conclusions: The infection of A. cantonensis in its definitive host R. rattus, and its circulation in the study area in the analyzed period was demonstrated for the first time in Cuba. The presence of adult rats, the high quantity of rodents and the rainy season were the factors that contributed to a greater infection of A. cantonensis, which increase the probability of transmission to intermediate hosts, and consequently, the risk of transmission to humans.  Keywords: Angiostrongylus cantonensis, rodents, Rattus, urban field, rainy period.