Investigating the Interaction Between Gluconobacter Oxydans and Bacillus M egaterium for 2-keto-L-gulonic Acid Biosynthesis in the Two-Step Vitamin C Fermentation

In the two-step vitamin C fermentation process, its precursor 2-keto-L-gulonic acid was synthesized from L-sorbose by mixed culture of Gluconobacter oxydans and Bacillus megaterium. The interaction between Gluconobacter oxydans and Bacillus megaterium remains unclear and it is a challenge to mathematically model the mixed growth of these two strains. The Monod-type equations were previously proposed to describe the coupled growth of Gluconobacter oxydans and Bacillus megaterium. However, in this study, we modeled the interaction of these two strains in a macroscopic view by introducing the population theory. Taking account of the fact that the density or concentration of Gluconobacter oxydans or Bacillus megaterium was hardly to measure accurately in the mixed culture broth, the data of concentrations of the substrate and product were used to indirectly investigate the relation between these two strains. Three batch experiments were used to validate our model. And according to the values of identified parameters, the type of interaction between Gluconobacter oxydans and Bacillus megaterium was concluded to be predation, where Gluconobacter oxydans was predator, and Bacillus megaterium was prey.     

Maneuverability Simulations for Twin-Waterjet Propulsion Vessel

Maneuverability is one of the most important sailing performances of vessels. In this article, a motion control model with three degrees of freedom(DoFs) for twin-waterjet propulsion vessel is proposed. The model is developed on the basis of maneuvering model group(MMG) maneuverability equations. A simulation environment is constructed on the Matlab Simulink platform. Standard turning tests and zig-zag tests are simulated by solving the motion control model, and the corresponding maneuverability parameters are calculated. Simulation results demonstrate that the maneuverability parameters are in accordance with the vessel maneuverability standard.The approach may be applied to the rapid prediction of vessel maneuverability.