Absorbent substrates including a high percentage of superabsorbent material and method of manufacturing such absorbent substrates are disclosed. An absorbent substrate can include an intake layer including a first plurality of fibers and an absorbent layer. The absorbent layer can include superabsorbent material providing greater than 80% of the absorbent layer by total weight of the absorbent layer. The intake layer and the absorbent layer can provide an integrated material including an interface between the intake and absorbent layers. The interface can include at least some of the first plurality of fibers of the intake layer mixed with at least some of the absorbent layer.

A device for treating a damaged tissue includes an expandable scaffold positionable in a portion of a luminal tissue structure of a mammal; and maintained via stent technology, wherein the scaffold is comprised of electrospun fibers composed of a biodegradable compound. The scaffold serves as a temporary template that allows the tissue to be rebuilt.

An apparatus for making a spunbond nonwoven laminate having a plurality of spunbond nonwoven layers has a row extending in a travel direction of two, three, or four spinning beams each emitting a multiplicity of multicomponent crimped continuous filaments with the filaments of each beam having a degree of crimp different from that of the filaments of each of the other beams. Respective extruders supply each beam with the components of the respective filaments and respective supply units feed each of the extruders with the respective components. The rate at which the components are supplied to the extruders is adjusted for varying the proportions of the components in each filament. A conveyor extends in the direction below the beams and receives the filaments as respective layers from the respective beams.

In order to provide artificial leather having both strength (in particular, tensile strength and tear strength), surface appearance, and a dense feeling in artificial leather including a fiber-entangled body containing a nonwoven fabric made of ultrafine fibers containing a large amount of inorganic particles (in particular, metal compounds) as a constituent element, and an elastic polymer, the artificial leather of the present invention is artificial leather including a fiber-entangled body containing a nonwoven fabric made of ultrafine fibers having an average single fiber diameter of 1.0 ?m or more and 10.0 ?m or less as a constituent element and an elastic polymer, and satisfies the following requirements: (1) the ultrafine fibers include a polyester-based resin containing a manganese-based compound; (2) an average particle diameter of the manganese-based compound is 0.01 ?m or more and 0.20 ?m or less; and (3) the ultrafine fibers contain a manganese element in an amount of 0.1 ppm or more and 50.0 ppm or less in 100 mass % of the ultrafine fiber.

Self-regulating insulative batting is provided. The batting includes a blend of a plurality of fibers including functional fibers and non-functional fibers. The plurality of fibers are non-woven and oriented substantially vertically along a thickness direction of the batting. The functional fibers are configured to self-regulate at least one insulative quality of the batting based on changes in at least one environmental condition interacting with the batting. At least one of the length and thickness of the functional fibers changes based on changes in at least one environmental condition interacting with the batting. Articles comprising the self-regulating batting and methods of making the self-regulating batting are also provided.

Nonwoven webs having excellent fluid handling characteristics are disclosed. The nonwoven webs are made from a combination of binder fibers and structure fibers. The structure fibers are made from multicomponent, hollow fibers. The structure fibers include first polymer component zones that alternate with second polymer component zones around the circumference of the fiber. The first polymer component zone is made from a polymer having a lower melting temperature than the polymer contained in the second polymer component zone. In this manner, the fibers have a three-dimensional conformation that produces significant void volume within the nonwoven web.

Provided is a non-woven fabric which is suitable for cleaning wipers, diapers, food packaging materials, etc., and has excellent water absorption and handling performance. The non-woven fabric according to the present invention contains a thermoplastic biodegradable resin, and is characterized in that fibers constituting the non-woven fabric have crimps, the flexural rigidity index in the mechanical direction (MD) of the non-woven fabric is 7.77-37.4 as defined by the following equation: flexural rigidity index in the mechanical direction (MD)=flexural rigidity (gf.Math.cm) in the mechanical direction (MD)/{basis weight(g/m.sup.2)}.sup.2.5?10.sup.6, and the bulk density of the non-woven fabric is 0.098 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.251 g/cm.sup.3.

Air-cured batting includes a nonwoven web. The batting contains 75 to 97.5 wt % of fiber mixture, and 2.5 to 25 wt % of resin comprising a cross-linked copolymer of butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate, wherein the resin is present on a first surface of the batting, and on a second surface of the batting, the second surface being parallel to the first surface, and wherein the resin is adhered to fibers of the fiber mixture, thereby forming a bonded structure, such that, by virtue of the resin, the air-cured batting has structural integrity that imparts handleability of the batting in sheet form. Articles comprising the air-cured batting and methods of making the air-cured batting are also provided.

A disposable absorbent article is described. The disposable absorbent article has a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet. A carded staple fiber nonwoven having a basis weight of between about 50 grams per square meter (gsm) and about 100 gsm, includes a blend of absorbing fibers, stiffening fibers and filler fibers. The carded staple fiber nonwoven has a pore volume radius mode of between about 60 m and about 120 m.

A device for treating a damaged tissue includes an expandable scaffold positionable in a portion of a luminal tissue structure of a mammal; and maintained via stent technology, wherein the scaffold is comprised of electrospun fibers composed of a biodegradable compound. The scaffold serves as a temporary template that allows the tissue to be rebuilt.