Considerations of urban microclimate and thermal comfort are necessary for urban development, and a set of guidelines for a comfortable microclimate must be developed. However, to develop such guidelines, the predictive ability of thermal indices for outdoor thermal perceptions under different design decisions must be defined. The present study aimed to determine suitable indices for assessing outdoor thermal reaction in humid subtropical residential areas of China. Five criteria of coefficients of determination, Spearman’s rho, percentage of correct prediction, percentage of thermal comfort indices’ class predictions, and distribution of thermal comfort indices’ class predictions per class of thermal sensation votes (TSV) were established to assess the performance of four thermal indices commonly used in outdoor thermal comfort research of China. The empirical thermal comfort index (TSVmodel) had a better correlation with TSV, while the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was the most successful, simulating 29.8% of TSV. The testability of Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Standard Effective Temperature (SET*) were very low, with the correct predictive ability 16.5% and 24.4% respectively. In the selected indices, the UTCI reasonably approximated the observed data for this study and was recommended to assess the outdoor thermal comfort for evaluating the thermal comfort level under different design decisions. For all the indices, the systematic errors were generally higher than the unsystematic errors, indicating that the assessment scales do not adapt to humid subtropical residential areas of China. It is necessary to establish the thermal sensation ranges of humid subtropical areas of China.

The spatial pattern of Weizi settlements features distinct regional characteristics. Moreover, it contains profound wisdom in terms of traditional construction; therefore, studies on its association with the microclimate have important implications for improving the quality of human settlements. In the present study, Guanweizi Village in the Xinyang City of Henan Province was used as an example to analyze and evaluate the thermal comfort of green spaces. The impact of peripheral water bodies on the thermal comfort of outdoor green spaces in the settlement was studied, and the association between the components of outdoor green spaces and physiological equivalent temperature as an indicator of thermal comfort was explored. Further, factors negatively affecting the thermal comfort of green spaces were analyzed through the grid method. Thermal comfort in the Weizi settlement is somewhat correlated with the coverage of water bodies, roads, soil, greening, and buildings. Increasing the water area and creating multi-level greening spaces are effective measures to improve the thermal comfort of green spaces in the settlement. Our findings provide a theoretical basis and a pioneering example for future practices of environment design for human settlements.

A suitable starch hydrolysis strategy is crucial for conversion of starch into fermentable sugar, both with regard to reducing hydrolysis cost and increasing hydrolysis efficiency. A mathematical model for starch hydrolysis has been developed to predict sugar released curves based on experimental data from starch cold enzyme hydrolysis. At the first part of cold enzyme hydrolysis, starch was hydrolyzed by α-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) and conversion into dextrin and glucose. Secondly, the residual starch and dextrin were second hydrolysis by glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.3) into glucose. Fitting of experimental data was made by non-linear regression. Parameters values calculate were obtain from previous studies or experiments. Though mathematic formulation, the kinetic model was able to fit experiment with very good agreement. This model can be used for simulation of the industrial process and for faults detection. It can also be utilized for the optimization and even for the supervised control of the process.