FTIR-ATR was used to study the effect of roasting conditions on the flavor of brewed coffee using Guatemala Antigua coffee beans. The 1800-1680 cm(-1) carbonyl region for vinyl esters/lactones, esters, aldehydes, ketones, and acids was found to provide a flavor-print of the brewed coffee. A study of light, medium, and dark roasts indicated that when the rate of heating to the onset of the first and second cracks was kept constant, the types of carbonyl compounds formed were similar, varying only in their concentration. This difference in concentration is apparently due to the additional heating of the coffee bean beyond the second crack. When the heating rate to the onset of the first and second crack was varied, both the types and concentration of the carbonyl compounds formed during roasting were affected. Thus, heating rates of green coffee beans to the onset of the first and second cracks are important determinants of the basic taste and aroma of brewed coffee.
A comparative study of Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) spectra of 32 scalp and pubic hair samples from individuals diagnosed with breast cancer and those who were negative for breast cancer showed increases in the beta-sheet/disorder structures (relative to alpha-helix structures) and C-H lipid content of hair from breast cancer patients. Thus, the presence of breast cancer appears to alter the hair growth process, resulting in changes in the composition and conformation of cell membrane and matrix materials of hair fiber. These appear to be consistent with the changes observed in X-ray diffraction patterns for hair from breast cancer patients. A blind study of 12 additional hair samples using these FTIR-ATR spectral differences as markers correctly identified all four hair samples from cancer patients (100%). Two of these samples were from breast cancer patients. Of the remaining two samples analyzing positive for cancer, one was from a prostate cancer patient and one from a lung cancer patient. Thus, it appears that the mechanism that alters hair fiber synthesis in the three types of cancer may be similar. The blind study incorrectly identified as positive for cancer three hair samples from two apparently healthy individuals and one patient considered cured from prostate cancer.
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