The volumes in this authoritative series present a multidisciplinary
approach to modeling and simulation of flows in the cardiovascular and
ventilatory systems, especially multiscale modeling and coupled
simulations. The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are tightly
coupled, as their primary function is to supply oxygen to and remove
carbon dioxide from the body's cells. Because physiological conduits
have deformable and reactive walls, macroscopic flow behavior and
prediction must be coupled to phenomenological models of nano- and
microscopic events in a corrector scheme of regulated mechanisms when
the vessel lumen caliber varies markedly. Therefore, investigation of
flows of blood and air in physiological conduits requires an
understanding of the biology, chemistry, and physics of these systems
together with the mathematical tools to describe their functioning.
Volume 4 is devoted to major sets of intracellular mediators that
transmit signals upon stimulation of cell-surface receptors. Activation
of signaling effectors triggers the release of substances stored in
cellular organelles and/or gene transcription and protein synthesis.
Complex stages of cell signaling can be studied using proper
mathematical models, once the role of each component is carefully
handled. Volume 4 also reviews various categories of cytosolic and/or
nuclear mediators and illustrates some major signal transduction
pathways, such as NFkappaB axis, oxygen sensing, and
mechanotransduction.