Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD) are common functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) and account for a large proportion of consulting patients. These 2 disorders overlap with each other frequently. The pathogenesis of IBS or FD is complicated and multi-factors related, in which infectious or non-infectious inflammation and local or systemic immune response play significant roles. There are few studies focusing on the mechanism of inflammation in patients with overlap syndrome of irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia (IBS-FD). This review focuses on current advances about the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of IBS and FD and the possible mechanism of inflammation in IBS-FD.

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Copper matrix composites reinforced by copper foams with uniformly embedded carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by electrodeposition and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite foams and bulk composites were characterized or tested by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and tensile tester, respectively. The results show that the CNTs are uniformly dispersed and embedded in the copper foams by electrodeposition, which preserve as reinforcing skeletons in the subsequent SPS sintered composites. Significant improvements of the tensile strength up to 341.32 MPa and the elongation value of 35.59% are obtained for the CNTs/Cu foam reinforced copper composites, showing a simultaneous achievement of high strength and high ductility with such a three-dimensional skeleton reinforced composite structure. The strengthening mechanisms are also discussed.

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