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

Interview with architects Eduardo Luis Rodríguez and Ayleen Robainas Barcia, President and General Secretary of Docomomo Cuba, about the current state of Modern Heritage in the island. Starting from the reflection about the singularities of this legacy and a call to attention to the urgency of taking it into consideration, a series of strategies are proposed for its preservation and enhancement. Among these, the necessity to apply levels of listed heritage protection in accordance with their values to guarantee their preservation and the definition of intervention strategies sensitive to their values. Research – adding contemporary perspectives, such as gender of interaction between disciplines – and dissemination are tools to approach this heritage to society, stressing the identity value of these architectures as scenarios linked to the life and memory of a society.  

The pioneers of the emerging Modern Architecture Movement expressed their differences with the postulates of the theories of restoration of monuments. They rejected the emphasis placed on the conservation of pre-existing architecture, to which they attributed limited concepts and negative aspects. This provoked controversies during the third decade of the twentieth century that influenced the subsequent evolution of the concepts of cultural heritage. The objective of this work was to clarify the divergent criteria formulated at that time, and to explore the current situation. It was based on the review of bibliographical sources, the analysis of documents, opinions of authors, and examples of paradigmatic modern works intervened up to the present. Persistent problems are observed in recognizing the heritage significance of the architecture of the recent past and in undertaking its restoration. In conclusion, there are failures in the attention that these deserve, and differences in the specific restoration processes that they require.

The energy performance of architecture, which depends on its passive design, is essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11, although it is a topic rarely addressed in Latin America, particularly in self-built popular housing. This work, carried out by the CYTED REDENARQUI network, aimed to establish common theoretical and methodological foundations for characterizing, classifying, and evaluating Ibero-American architecture according to its energy performance. This theoretical phase combines documentary research and the experience of each working group with a collective discussion of the findings. The results include the variables to consider in identifying architectural and urban types in the region and the procedures for evaluating them based on the annual percentage of hours of discomfort each type generates. These results will serve as benchmarks for new architecture and the renovation processes of built heritage in the Ibero-American region, to be explored in the next stages of research.

The building where the former United States Consulate in Santiago de Cuba held its sessions, a representative work of the local Modern Movement, is located in one of the main urban complexes of the 1950s in the city and has had different uses over time, currently being the headquarters of the Provincial Center for Plastic Arts and Design. This work aims to define the characteristics and values of the building and propose design solutions for conservation. Methods of historical research and the analysis of various sources documents, are combined with empirical methods of observation and constructive technical diagnosis. The evolution, characteristics and relevance of the building for the Modern Movement in Santiago are presented, placing it in its historical context, taking into account the different functions it served. Guidelines to follow in intervention actions for its conservation are also outlined

San Miguel del Padrón, a peripheral municipality of Havana, presents an incomplete sociocultural network, with limited coverage and functional deterioration, despite possessing a valuable cultural heritage. This study aimed to formulate design recommendations for a network of sociocultural facilities that complements the minimum normative services, integrating multifunctionality and citizen participation. The research was structured in three stages: theoretical analysis of culture and the urban periphery; physical, urban, and sociocultural diagnosis of the territory; and a design proposal with replicable criteria. As a result, spatial, functional, and participatory strategies were defined for a local cultural network in San Miguel del Padrón, based on the utilization of heritage potential and integrated territorial management. It is concluded that the proposals are feasible for immediate application and can be adapted to other Cuban municipalities with similar conditions, as a tool to strengthen peripheral cultural development from a sustainable and inclusive perspective.

Introduction: Cervicobrachial neuralgia is evidence of nerve root injury, and its main symptom is severe pain. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of neural therapy in relieving cervicobrachial neuralgia. Methods: A prospective, analytical, observational case-control study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of neural therapy in cervicobrachial neuralgia. The sample consisted of 140 patients cared at the pain clinic of Hospital Provincial Celia Sánchez Manduley, between July 2021 and November 2023. Results: Pain intensity was severe in 55.7 % of patients in group I, and in 48.7 % in group II. After treatment, 92.9 % of group I and 44.3 % of group II patients had no pain. 68.6 % of patients in group I and 55.7 % in group II showed partial limitation of cervical mobility. After treatment, 92.9 % of the patients in group I and 50 % in group II showed unrestricted mobility. 60 % of patients in group I and 58.6 % in group II had poor shoulder mobility before treatment. After treatment, 47.1 % of group I patients had excellent mobility and 35.7 % of group II patients had poor mobility. Conclusions: Neural therapy allowed greater effectiveness in the treatment of cervicobrachial neuralgia, with respect to conventional treatment, with a decrease in pain and recovery of mobility. Keywords: pain; neck pain; therapeutic neural medicine; brachial plexus neuritis; trigger points.

Introduction: Persistent postoperative pain is common after thoracic surgery. There are several factors involved in its appearance, some of which are preventable. Objective: To determine the behavior of chronic postoperative pain in patients undergoing thoracic surgery and the factors that modify it. Methods: A retrospective descriptive longitudinal study was carried out in patients who underwent thoracic surgery and attended at the anesthesiology and resuscitation Service of Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Hermanos Ameijeiras. Fifty-one patients who underwent thoracotomy were included. Results: The female sex was associated with the occurrence of pain three times more than the male sex. Age over 60 years also had a significant impact. The associated psychological factors were anxiety and emotional hypersensitivity. Surgery time was 160-240 min for 47.1 % of the patients. When this was longer, chronic pain occurred to a greater extent. There was no significant relationship with the type of incision or the administration of perioperative opioids. Neuroaxial techniques with ketamine infusion were able to reduce its occurrence significantly. Conclusions: The female sex and advanced age were more frequently associated with persistent postoperative pain; so were prolonged operative time and the presence of pain since the preoperative. However, the type of incision and the dose of fentanyl were not related to its occurrence. The administration of epidural local anesthetics and intraoperative ketamine infusion achieved better control of persistent postoperative pain than conventional anesthetic techniques. Keywords: persistent postoperative pain; thoracic surgery; risk factors in pain.    

ABSTRACT Introduction: Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting mostly during the sixth decade of life. It is a chronic disease of slow onset andasymmetric progression characterized by motor and nonmotor disturbances. Objectives: To characterize scalp block as a safe and valid anesthetic technique for a functional surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods: A descriptive, prospective and longitudinal study was performed on all the patients undergoing functional Parkinson's surgery at Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica in the period from June 2022 to June 2023. Hemodynamic variables, levels of conscious sedation, need for rescue analgesia, as well as incidence of trans-and postoperative complications, were evaluated. Results: Sixty-one patients were studied. Arterial hypertension was the most frequent comorbidity. The evolution of the studied patients’ sedation status wasevaluated according to the Ramsay scale: 42 of them remained at sedation level 2 and 19 reached level 3. When applying the visual analog scale to evaluate pain intensity, patients with little pain predominated, followed by those with no pain. Only three presented moderate pain. No complications derived from scalp block were evidenced.  Conclusions: Scalp block ensures hemodynamic stability, patient cooperation, trans-and postoperative pain control, as well as good postoperative clinical evolution. Keywords:scalp; Parkinson’s disease; conscious sedation.