Abstract: The present invention relates to absorbent cores for absorbent articles, which are intended to receive and retain bodily discharges such as urine. Such articles are disposable hygiene articles like baby diapers, training pants, adult incontinence articles, feminine care articles and the like. The improvement essentially is based on the recognition that replacing most or all of the cushioning fibrous absorbent material in an absorbent core by a liquid storage material capable of retaining liquid while maintaining or improving acquisition behavior is desirable as the reduction in cushioning is more than compensated by the gain in comfort. The comfort however can only be achieved if the more fundamental requirements of a diaper in respect to liquid handling are satisfied or improved.

Abstract: A substrate for an information recording medium, wherein the period of microwaviness is 2 &mgr;m to 4 mm, and if we let wa be the maximum height of this microwaviness and Rmax be the maximum height measured by atomic force microscope, the main surface of the substrate has a wa of no more than 5 nm and an Rmax of no more than 12 nm, provided that wa is the difference between the highest and lowest points on a measurement curve of all measured points in a measurement area.