Braking hazards of golf cars and low speed vehicles.

Research and analysis of braking issues for golf cars and other low speed vehicles (LSVs) are reported in this study. It is shown that many such vehicles only provide braking for their rear wheels, which can lead to a driver losing control during travel on typical steep downgrades. The braking performance of a golf car equipped with brakes on two or four wheels was analyzed to determine the effects of two and four wheel brake designs on braking efficiency and vehicle yaw stability. Besides reducing braking efficiency, it is demonstrated that installing brakes on only the rear wheels can lead to directional instability (fishtailing) and rollover when the rear wheels are braked until skidding occurs. The nonexistence of golf course standards and the inadequacy of golf car and LSV standards are noted and a connection between this and the comparatively high level of accidents with such vehicles is inferred. Based on these results, it is advisable to install brakes on all four wheels of golf cars and LSVs. In addition, new safety standards should be considered to reduce the occurrence of golf car accidents on steep downhill slopes.

P NMR Study of Elicitor Treated Phaseolus vulgaris Cell Suspension Cultures.

The addition of an elicitor (glucan) to Phaseolus vulgaris cell suspension cultures increased the formation of the phytoalexin phaseollin. Intracellular pH and phosphate concentrations were studied with (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on elicitor-treated cells which were aerated during the nuclear magnetic resonance measurement. The pH of the vacuole and to a lesser extent the pH of the cytoplasm were affected at 10 minutes after elicitor addition; a decrease in pH from 5.3 to 4.8 was noted in the vacuole and from 7.46 to 7.28 in the cytoplasm. The ratio between the amount of Pi in the vacuole to that in the cytoplasm also changed within 10 minutes after elicitor addition. The signal for ATP (beta-ATP) was low after elicitor addition and was high again 23 hours after elicitation. Forty-eight hours after elicitor addition, vacuolar and cytoplasmic pH had almost returned to their initial values. The rapid change in vacuolar and cytoplasmic pH may cause the change of metabolism that occurs in elicitor-treated P. vulgaris cells.