Ongoing research to develop digestion-resistant starch for human health promotion integrates the disciplines of starch chemistry, agronomy, analytical chemistry, food science, nutrition, pathology, and microbiology. The objectives of this research include identifying components of starch structure that confer digestion resistance, developing novel plants and starches, and modifying foods to incorporate these starches. Furthermore, recent and ongoing studies address the impact of digestion-resistant starches on the prevention and control of chronic human diseases, including diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity. This review provides a transdisciplinary overview of this field, including a description of types of resistant starches; factors in plants that affect digestion resistance; methods for starch analysis; challenges in developing food products with resistant starches; mammalian intestinal and gut bacterial metabolism; potential effects on gut microbiota; and impacts and mechanisms for the prevention and control of colon cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Although this has been an active area of research and considerable progress has been made, many questions regarding how to best use digestion-resistant starches in human diets for disease prevention must be answered before the full potential of resistant starches can be realized.

Writing ink analysis is used in establishing document authenticity and the sources and relative ages of written entries. Most analytical methods require removing samples or visibly altering the document. Nondestructive, in situ analysis of writing inks on paper without visible alteration is possible using mass spectrometry with a new ion source called Direct Analysis in Real Time. Forty-three different black and blue ballpoint, black fluid, and black gel inks were examined. Both dyes and persistent but thermally labile components of the inks contribute to the mass spectra, principally as protonated molecules [M1H]1. Numerous ink components were identified from the spectra. The spectra were placed in a searchable library, which was then challenged with two spectra from each of the 43 inks. The best match for each of the challenge spectra was correct for all but one ink, which matched with a very similar ink by the same manufacturer.

The objectives of this research were: (1) to develop a technique for creating calibrations to predict the constituent concentrations of single maize kernels from near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral image data, and (2) to evaluate the feasibility of an NIR hyperspectral imaging spectrometer as a tool for the quality analysis of single maize kernels. Single kernels of maize were analyzed by hyperspectral transmittance in the range of 750 to 1090 nm. The transmittance data were standardized using an opal glass transmission standard and converted to optical absorbance units. Partial least squares (PLS) regression and principal components regression (PCR) were used to develop predictive calibrations for moisture and oil content using the standardized absorbance spectra. Standard normal variate, detrending, multiplicative scatter correction, wavelength selection by genetic algorithm, and no preprocessing were compared for their effect on model predictive performance. The moisture calibration achieved a best standard error of cross-validation (SECV) of 1.20%, with relative performance determinant (RPD) of 2.74. The best oil calibration achieved an SECV of 1.38%, with an RPD of only 1.45. The performance and subsequent analysis of the oil calibration reveal the need for improved methods of single-seed reference analysis.

In phase-modulation FT-IR spectroscopy, all wavelengths in a spectrum are modulated at the same frequency and in phase. This factor makes the use of photoacoustic phase data for depth profiling samples much easier in phase modulation than in rapid scan. A method to quantitatively measure layer thickness by using the phase of a substrate spectrum peak is demonstrated with a series of samples consisting of thin polymer films on substrates. Additions to the basic method are demonstrated that extend its application to cases where the substrate peak is overlapped by a spectrum peak of the surface film. A linear relationship between phase angle and layer thickness extending to thicknesses greater than twice the thermal diffusion length is demonstrated. Representations of phase modulation data as a family of angle-specific spectra, as magnitude vs. phase curves, and as a power spectrum and phase spectrum pair, each of which is useful for different aspects of depth profiling, are discussed. Calculating these representations from a single pair of orthogonal interferograms is described. In phase-modulation FT-IR spectroscopy, all wavelengths in a spectrum are modulated at the same frequency and in phase. This factor makes the use of photoacoustic phase data for depth profiling samples much easier in phase modulation than in rapid scan. A method to quantitatively measure layer thickness by using the phase of a substrate spectrum peak is demonstrated with a series of samples consisting of thin polymer films on substrates. Additions to the basic method are demonstrated that extend its application to cases where the substrate peak is overlapped by a spectrum peak of the surface film. A linear relationship between phase angle and layer thickness extending to thicknesses greater than twice the thermal diffusion length is demonstrated. Representations of phase modulation data as a family of angle-specific spectra, as magnitude vs. phase curves, and as a power spectrum and phase spectrum pair, each of which is useful for different aspects of depth profiling, are discussed. Calculating these representations from a single pair of orthogonal interferograms is described. Keywords