The MBRS Program provides unique opportunities to faculty and students to conduct quality research which would have been very difficult at such a small undergraduate institution. The proposed work is subdivided into six projects which will involve fourteen students yearly and will utilize the expertise of faculty members and a regular consultant from Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Drs. Chopra and Wright will investigate the comparative effectiveness of 4- quinolones of different clinical isolates and similar pathogen isolated from different body sites in vitro. Dr. Russell will utilize various indole synthetic methods to prepare indole-fused 4-quinolones as potential antimicrobial agents and to complete the preparation of selected Melatonin analogs for testing by NCI as potential cell mitosis inhibitors. Dr. Rhodes will isolate and biochemically characterize fibronectin from invertebrates. These fibronectins will also be tested for various biological activities. Dr. Sutton-Haywood and Mr. Littau will study metamorphosis of tail portions of Rana catesbeiana. They will analyze the notochord and its matrix from structural and functional changes utilizing light and electron microscopy, enzyme analysis, and ion-exchange chromatography. Dr. Greene will investigate the physical and psychological stressors that confront older adults and the factors that influence the adaptation process. The predictive model includes several demographic variables, two coping models and social support. Dr. Perumal will study the 4-oxo carbonyl infrared absorption bands of 4- quinolone antibiotics and investigate the relationships between the spectral data and the antibacterial susceptibility patterns of these antibiotics against different bacteria.
