The contributed volume puts emphasis on a superior role of water in
(bio)systems exposed to a mechanical stimulus. It is well known that
water plays an extraordinary role in our life. It feeds mammalian or
other organism after distributing over its whole volume to support
certain physiological and locomotive (friction-adhesion) processes to
mention but two of them, both of extreme relevance.
Water content, not only in the mammalian organism but also in other
biosystems such as whether those of soil which is equipped with
microbiome or the ones pertinent to plants, having their own natural
network of water vessels, is always subjected to a force field.The
decisive force field applied to the biosystems makes them
biomechanically agitated irrespective of whether they are subjected to
external or internal force-field conditions. It ought to be noted that
the decisive mechanical factor shows up in a close relation with the
space-and-time scale in which it is causing certain specific phenomena
to occur.The scale problem, emphasizing the range of action of
gravitational force, thus the millimeter or bigger force vs. distance
scale, is supposed to enter the so-called macroscale approach to water
transportation through soil or plants' roots system. It is merely
related to a percolation problem, which assumes to properly inspect the
random network architecture assigned to the biosystems invoked. The
capillarity conditions turn out to be of prior importance, and the
porous-medium effect has to be treated, and solved in a fairly
approximate way.The deeper the scale is penetrated by a force-exerting
and hydrated agent the more non-gravitational force fields manifest.
This can be envisaged in terms of the corresponding thermodynamic
(non-Newtonian) forces, and the phenomena of interest are mostly
attributed to suitable changes of the osmotic pressure. In low Reynolds
number conditions, thus in the (sub)micrometer distance-scale zone, they
are related with the corresponding viscosity changes of the aqueous,
e.g. cytoplasmatic solutions, of semi-diluted and concentrated (but also
electrolytic) characteristics. For example, they can be observed in
articulating systems of mammals, in their skin, and to some extent, in
other living beings, such as lizards, geckos or even insects. Through
their articulating devices an external mechanical stimulus is
transmitted from macro- to nanoscale, wherein the corresponding
osmotic-pressure conditions apply.
The content of the proposed work can be distributed twofold. First, the
biomechanical mammalian-type (or, similar) systems with extraordinary
relevance of water for their functioning will be presented, also
including a presentation of water itself as a key physicochemical
system/medium. Second, the suitably chosen related systems, mainly of
soil and plant addressing provenience, will be examined thoroughly. As a
common denominator of all of them, it is proposed to look at their
hydrophobic and/or (de)hydration effects, and how do they impact on
their basic mechanical (and related, such as chemo-mechanical or
piezoelectric, etc.) properties. An additional tacit assumption employed
throughout the monograph concerns statistical scalability of the
presented biosystems which is equivalent to take for granted a certain
similarity between local and global system's properties, mostly those of
mechanical nature. The presented work's chapters also focus on
biodiversity and ecological aspects in the world of animals and plants,
and the related systems. The chapters' contents underscore the
bioinspiration as the key landmark of the proposed monograph.
