diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2b53fceb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+API_URL=http://localhost:9393
+ONTOLOGIES_LINKED_DATA_PATH=
+GOO_PATH=
+SPARQL_CLIENT_PATH=
+ONTOPORTAL_KB=ontoportal_kb
+REDIS_HOST=redis-ut
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index e050a768..c836033a 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 source 'https://rubygems.org'
-
-gem 'activesupport', '~> 3.2'
+gem 'activesupport', '~> 5'
 # see https://github.com/ncbo/ontologies_api/issues/69
-gem 'bigdecimal', '1.4.2'
+gem 'bigdecimal'
+# gem 'faraday', '~> 1.9'
 gem 'json-schema', '~> 2.0'
-gem 'multi_json', '~> 1.0'
-gem 'oj', '~> 3.0'
+gem 'multi_json'
+gem 'oj'
 gem 'parseconfig'
 gem 'rack'
 gem 'rake', '~> 10.0'
@@ -72,7 +72,9 @@ group :profiling do
 end
 
 group :test do
-  gem 'minitest', '~> 4.0'
+  gem 'crack', '0.4.5'
+  gem 'minitest', '~> 5.0'
+  gem 'minitest-hooks', "~> 1.5"
   gem 'minitest-stub_any_instance'
   gem 'rack-test'
   gem 'simplecov', require: false
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 985a1127..132094bb 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/ncbo/goo.git
-  revision: 70007faf43d0d96292809f89f15a27a757ccaa25
+  revision: aaa3941b48edbc317ec42ba4ecb44c0defeccef6
   branch: develop
   specs:
     goo (0.0.2)
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ GIT
 
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/ncbo/ncbo_annotator.git
-  revision: 2fb892f92f66b876b9793944124f72821f3b3eb8
+  revision: b2731c98bfef0958fecb440c8648b7755a670895
   branch: develop
   specs:
     ncbo_annotator (0.0.1)
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ GIT
 
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/ncbo/ncbo_cron.git
-  revision: 3bb491139267efc37d3b752888824ca3dd976e85
+  revision: cf66e7d076a94e6d669ffeb09c6bcd988226ece3
   branch: develop
   specs:
     ncbo_cron (0.0.1)
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ GIT
 
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/ncbo/ontologies_linked_data.git
-  revision: c30887ee907acd39500cae6c12f45edb06fe0802
+  revision: a22fae3150d8e84e3b6fd19223a5ce2111e8ce94
   branch: develop
   specs:
     ontologies_linked_data (0.0.1)
@@ -103,9 +103,11 @@ GIT
 GEM
   remote: https://rubygems.org/
   specs:
-    activesupport (3.2.22.5)
-      i18n (~> 0.6, >= 0.6.4)
-      multi_json (~> 1.0)
+    activesupport (5.2.8.1)
+      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0, >= 1.0.2)
+      i18n (>= 0.7, < 2)
+      minitest (~> 5.1)
+      tzinfo (~> 1.1)
     addressable (2.8.7)
       public_suffix (>= 2.0.2, < 7.0)
     airbrussh (1.5.3)
@@ -116,7 +118,8 @@ GEM
     bcrypt (3.1.20)
     bcrypt_pbkdf (1.1.1)
     bcrypt_pbkdf (1.1.1-arm64-darwin)
-    bigdecimal (1.4.2)
+    bcrypt_pbkdf (1.1.1-x86_64-darwin)
+    bigdecimal (3.1.8)
     builder (3.3.0)
     capistrano (3.19.1)
       airbrussh (>= 1.0.0)
@@ -133,8 +136,7 @@ GEM
     coderay (1.1.3)
     concurrent-ruby (1.3.4)
     connection_pool (2.4.1)
-    crack (1.0.0)
-      bigdecimal
+    crack (0.4.5)
       rexml
     cube-ruby (0.0.3)
     dante (0.2.0)
@@ -154,6 +156,7 @@ GEM
       faraday (~> 2.0)
     ffi (1.17.0-aarch64-linux-gnu)
     ffi (1.17.0-arm64-darwin)
+    ffi (1.17.0-x86_64-darwin)
     ffi (1.17.0-x86_64-linux-gnu)
     gapic-common (0.22.0)
       faraday (>= 1.9, < 3.a)
@@ -179,6 +182,7 @@ GEM
     google-cloud-errors (1.4.0)
     google-protobuf (3.25.5-aarch64-linux)
     google-protobuf (3.25.5-arm64-darwin)
+    google-protobuf (3.25.5-x86_64-darwin)
     google-protobuf (3.25.5-x86_64-linux)
     googleapis-common-protos (1.6.0)
       google-protobuf (>= 3.18, < 5.a)
@@ -199,6 +203,9 @@ GEM
     grpc (1.66.0-arm64-darwin)
       google-protobuf (>= 3.25, < 5.0)
       googleapis-common-protos-types (~> 1.0)
+    grpc (1.66.0-x86_64-darwin)
+      google-protobuf (>= 3.25, < 5.0)
+      googleapis-common-protos-types (~> 1.0)
     grpc (1.66.0-x86_64-linux)
       google-protobuf (>= 3.25, < 5.0)
       googleapis-common-protos-types (~> 1.0)
@@ -209,13 +216,13 @@ GEM
     http-accept (1.7.0)
     http-cookie (1.0.7)
       domain_name (~> 0.5)
-    i18n (0.9.5)
+    i18n (1.14.6)
       concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
     json (2.7.2)
     json-schema (2.8.1)
       addressable (>= 2.4)
     json_pure (2.7.2)
-    jwt (2.9.0)
+    jwt (2.9.1)
       base64
     kgio (2.11.4)
     language_server-protocol (3.17.0.3)
@@ -233,7 +240,9 @@ GEM
       mime-types-data (~> 3.2015)
     mime-types-data (3.2024.0903)
     mini_mime (1.1.5)
-    minitest (4.7.5)
+    minitest (5.25.1)
+    minitest-hooks (1.5.2)
+      minitest (> 5.3)
     minitest-stub_any_instance (1.0.3)
     mlanett-redis-lock (0.2.7)
       redis
@@ -257,7 +266,9 @@ GEM
     net-ssh (7.2.3)
     netrc (0.11.0)
     newrelic_rpm (9.13.0)
-    oj (3.16.1)
+    oj (3.16.6)
+      bigdecimal (>= 3.0)
+      ostruct (>= 0.2)
     omni_logger (0.1.4)
       logger
     os (1.1.4)
@@ -369,10 +380,11 @@ GEM
       ostruct
     systemu (2.6.5)
     temple (0.10.3)
+    thread_safe (0.3.6)
     tilt (2.4.0)
     timeout (0.4.1)
-    tzinfo (2.0.6)
-      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
+    tzinfo (1.2.11)
+      thread_safe (~> 0.1)
     unicode-display_width (2.6.0)
     unicorn (6.1.0)
       kgio (~> 2.6)
@@ -387,35 +399,38 @@ GEM
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
       crack (>= 0.3.2)
       hashdiff (>= 0.4.0, < 2.0.0)
-    webrick (1.8.1)
+    webrick (1.8.2)
 
 PLATFORMS
   aarch64-linux
   arm64-darwin-22
+  x86_64-darwin-23
   x86_64-linux
 
 DEPENDENCIES
-  activesupport (~> 3.2)
+  activesupport (~> 5)
   bcrypt_pbkdf (>= 1.0, < 2.0)
-  bigdecimal (= 1.4.2)
+  bigdecimal
   capistrano (~> 3)
   capistrano-bundler
   capistrano-locally
   capistrano-rbenv
+  crack (= 0.4.5)
   cube-ruby
   ed25519 (>= 1.2, < 2.0)
   ffi
   goo!
   haml (~> 5.2.2)
   json-schema (~> 2.0)
-  minitest (~> 4.0)
+  minitest (~> 5.0)
+  minitest-hooks (~> 1.5)
   minitest-stub_any_instance
-  multi_json (~> 1.0)
+  multi_json
   ncbo_annotator!
   ncbo_cron!
   ncbo_ontology_recommender!
   newrelic_rpm
-  oj (~> 3.0)
+  oj
   ontologies_linked_data!
   parseconfig
   rack
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_annotator_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_annotator_controller.rb
index 53d7bb8a..2e6dada1 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_annotator_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_annotator_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestAnnotatorController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     @@redis = Redis.new(:host => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_host, :port => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_port)
     db_size = @@redis.dbsize
     if db_size > MAX_TEST_REDIS_SIZE
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     annotator = Annotator::Models::NcboAnnotator.new
     annotator.init_redis_for_tests()
     annotator.create_term_cache_from_ontologies(@@ontologies, false)
-    mapping_test_set
+    self.class.mapping_test_set
   end
 
   def test_annotate
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_batch_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_batch_controller.rb
index d1e9d144..ca37b156 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_batch_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_batch_controller.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 require_relative '../test_case'
 
 class TestBatchController < TestCase
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
+    LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
     @@ontologies = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.sample_owl_ontologies(process_submission: true)
   end
 
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ def test_class_batch_one_ontology
     assert last_response.ok?
     data = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     classes = data["http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#Class"]
-    assert classes.length == 4
+    assert_equal 4, classes.length
     classes.each do |klass|
       assert_instance_of String, klass["prefLabel"]
       assert_instance_of Array, klass["synonym"]
@@ -75,11 +76,11 @@ def test_class_batch_multiple
     assert last_response.ok?
     data = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     classes = data["http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#Class"]
-    assert classes.length == 6
+    assert_equal 6, classes.length
     classes.each do |klass|
       assert_instance_of String, klass["prefLabel"]
-      assert !klass["synonym"]
-      assert klass["prefLabel"] == class_ids[klass["@id"]]
+      refute klass["synonym"]
+      assert_equal klass["prefLabel"], class_ids[klass["@id"]]
     end
   end
 
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ def test_class_batch_multiple
   def test_class_all_bro
     mccl = @@ontologies.select { |y| y.id.to_s.include? "MCCL"}.first
     assert mccl, "mccl is not found to execute batch test."
+    # binding.pry
     classes = LinkedData::Models::Class.in(mccl.latest_submission).include(:prefLabel).page(1,500).read_only.all
     class_ids = {}
     classes.each do |klass|
@@ -101,9 +103,10 @@ def test_class_all_bro
     }
     post "/batch/", call_params
     assert last_response.ok?
+#    refute last_response.ok?
     data = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     classes_response = data["http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#Class"]
-    assert classes_response.length == classes.length
+    assert_equal classes.length, classes_response.length
     classes_response.each do |klass|
       assert_instance_of String, klass["prefLabel"]
       assert klass["prefLabel"] == class_ids[klass["@id"]]
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_classes_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_classes_controller.rb
index 780ded0e..ab8ff63e 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_classes_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_classes_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestClassesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     options = {ont_count: 1,
                submission_count: 3,
                submissions_to_process: [1, 2],
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_instances_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_instances_controller.rb
index 4e9b8a5c..1735455f 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_instances_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_instances_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestInstancesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions({
       process_submission: true,
       acronym: 'XCT-TEST-INST',
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_mappings_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_mappings_controller.rb
index 44bfa032..d8c6f619 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_mappings_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_mappings_controller.rb
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 class TestMappingsController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
-
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
     ["BRO-TEST-MAP-0","CNO-TEST-MAP-0","FAKE-TEST-MAP-0"].each do |acr|
       LinkedData::Models::OntologySubmission.where(ontology: [acronym: acr]).to_a.each do |s|
         s.delete
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_metrics_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_metrics_controller.rb
index b27fa198..0d8b547d 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_metrics_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_metrics_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestMetricsController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     if OntologySubmission.all.count > 100
       puts "this test is going to wipe out all submission and ontologies. probably this is not a test env."
       return
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_notes_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_notes_controller.rb
index d9223669..83cb1045 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_notes_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_notes_controller.rb
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 
 class TestNotesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
-    @@ontology, @@cls = self.new("before_suite")._ontology_and_class
+  def before_suite
+    self.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+    @@ontology, @@cls = self._ontology_and_class
 
     @@note_user = "test_note_user"
     @@user = LinkedData::Models::User.new(
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def test_all_notes
     get '/notes'
     assert last_response.ok?
     notes = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
-    assert notes.length >= 5
+    assert_operator 5, :<=, notes.length
   end
 
   def test_single_note
@@ -62,21 +62,22 @@ def test_note_lifecycle
       relatedOntology: [@@ontology.id.to_s]
     }
     post "/notes", MultiJson.dump(note), "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json"
-    assert last_response.status == 201
+    assert_equal 201, last_response.status
 
     new_note = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     get new_note["@id"]
     assert last_response.ok?
+    assert_equal 200, last_response.status
 
     note_changes = {body: "New testing body"}
     patch new_note["@id"], MultiJson.dump(note_changes), "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json"
-    assert last_response.status == 204
+    assert_equal 204, last_response.status
     get new_note["@id"]
     patched_note = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     assert_equal patched_note["body"], note_changes[:body]
 
     delete new_note["@id"]
-    assert last_response.status == 204
+    assert_equal 204, last_response.status
   end
 
   def test_proposal_lifecycle
@@ -97,21 +98,23 @@ def test_proposal_lifecycle
      }
 
      post "/notes", MultiJson.dump(note), "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json"
-     assert last_response.status == 201
+     assert_equal 201, last_response.status
 
      new_note = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
+     # assert_equal 'blah', new_note
      get new_note["@id"]
      assert last_response.ok?
 
      note_changes = {proposal: {label: "New sleed study facility"}}
      patch new_note["@id"], MultiJson.dump(note_changes), "CONTENT_TYPE" => "application/json"
-     assert last_response.status == 204
+     assert_equal 204, last_response.status
      get new_note["@id"]
      patched_note = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
-     assert_equal patched_note["label"], note_changes[:label]
+     refute_nil patched_note['proposal']['label']
+     assert_equal patched_note['proposal']['label'], note_changes[:proposal][:label]
 
      delete new_note["@id"]
-     assert last_response.status == 204
+     assert_equal 204, last_response.status
   end
 
   def test_notes_for_ontology
@@ -120,8 +123,8 @@ def test_notes_for_ontology
     get ont["links"]["notes"]
     notes = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     test_note = notes.select {|n| n["subject"].eql?("Test subject 1")}
-    assert test_note.length == 1
-    assert notes.length >= 5
+    assert_equal 1, test_note.length
+    assert_operator 5, :<=, notes.length
   end
 
   def test_notes_for_class
@@ -130,7 +133,7 @@ def test_notes_for_class
     get cls["links"]["notes"]
     notes = MultiJson.load(last_response.body)
     test_note = notes.select {|n| n["subject"].eql?("Test subject 1")}
-    assert test_note.length == 1
-    assert notes.length >= 5
+    assert_equal 1, test_note.length
+    assert_operator 5, :<=, notes.length
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_ontologies_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_ontologies_controller.rb
index a5f242bd..874efe39 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_ontologies_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_ontologies_controller.rb
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 require_relative '../test_case'
 
 class TestOntologiesController < TestCase
-  def self.before_suite
-    _set_vars
-    _delete
-    _create_user
-    _create_onts
+  def before_suite
+    self.class._set_vars
+    self.class._delete
+    self.class._create_user
+    self.class._create_onts
   end
 
   def teardown
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ def test_on_demand_ontology_pull
     acronym = ont.acronym
     sub = ont.submissions.first
     sub.bring(:pullLocation) if sub.bring?(:pullLocation)
-    assert_equal(nil, sub.pullLocation, msg="Pull location should be nil at this point in the test")
+    assert_nil sub.pullLocation, msg = "Pull location should be nil at this point in the test"
 
     allowed_user = ont.administeredBy.first
     allowed_user.bring(:apikey) if allowed_user.bring?(:apikey)
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_ontology_analytics_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_ontology_analytics_controller.rb
index b8e36dce..721efea6 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_ontology_analytics_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_ontology_analytics_controller.rb
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ class TestOntologyAnalyticsController < TestCase
     }
   }
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     @@redis = Redis.new(:host => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_host, :port => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_port)
     db_size = @@redis.dbsize
     if db_size > MAX_TEST_REDIS_SIZE
@@ -212,9 +212,9 @@ def self.before_suite
         "SNOMEDCT" => "SNOMEDCT Ontology",
         "TST" => "TST Ontology"
     }
-    _delete
-    _create_user
-    _create_onts
+    self.class._delete
+    self.class._create_user
+    self.class._create_onts
   end
 
   def teardown
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_ontology_submissions_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_ontology_submissions_controller.rb
index ef356fcf..d0f58582 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_ontology_submissions_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_ontology_submissions_controller.rb
@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@
 
 class TestOntologySubmissionsController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    _set_vars
-    _create_user
-    _create_onts
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+    self.class._set_vars
+    self.class._create_user
+    self.class._create_onts
   end
 
   def self._set_vars
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_properties_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_properties_controller.rb
index cbf249b8..d2957956 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_properties_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_properties_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestPropertiesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     count, acronyms, bro = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions({
                                                                                                   process_submission: true,
                                                                                                   process_options:{process_rdf: true, extract_metadata: false},
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     @@acronyms = @@ontologies.map { |ont| ont.bring_remaining; ont.acronym }
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
   end
 
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_properties_search_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_properties_search_controller.rb
index 2589a293..2a8cadd0 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_properties_search_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_properties_search_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 
 class TestPropertiesSearchController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+
     count, acronyms, bro = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions({
                                                                                                   process_submission: true,
                                                                                                   process_options:{process_rdf: true, extract_metadata: false, index_properties: true},
@@ -26,7 +28,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     @@ontologies = bro.concat(mccl)
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
     LinkedData::Models::Ontology.indexClear(:property)
     LinkedData::Models::Ontology.indexCommit(nil, :property)
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_provisional_classes_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_provisional_classes_controller.rb
index 7225d772..e54c7805 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_provisional_classes_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_provisional_classes_controller.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 require_relative '../test_case'
 
 class TestProvisionalClassesController < TestCase
-  def self.before_suite
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
-    @@ontology, classes = self.new("before_suite")._ontology_and_classes
+  def before_suite
+    self.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+    @@ontology, classes = self._ontology_and_classes
 
     @@cls = classes[0]
     @@cls1 = classes[1]
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     end
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     3.times do |i|
       @@pcs[i].delete
     end
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_provisional_relations_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_provisional_relations_controller.rb
index 83f2761d..f097dde9 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_provisional_relations_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_provisional_relations_controller.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 require_relative '../test_case'
 
 class TestProvisionalRelationsController < TestCase
-  def self.before_suite
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
-    @@ontology, classes = self.new("before_suite")._ontology_and_classes
+  def before_suite
+    self.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+    @@ontology, classes = self._ontology_and_classes
 
     @@cls1 = classes[0]
     @@cls2 = classes[1]
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     @@test_rel.save
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     @@test_pc.delete
     @@test_user.delete
   end
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_recommender_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_recommender_controller.rb
index 58d6d942..c46255fc 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_recommender_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_recommender_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestRecommenderController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     @@redis = Redis.new(:host => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_host, :port => Annotator.settings.annotator_redis_port)
     db_size = @@redis.dbsize
     if db_size > MAX_TEST_REDIS_SIZE
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_recommender_v1_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_recommender_v1_controller.rb
index 3ac4862d..01bde871 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_recommender_v1_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_recommender_v1_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 class TestRecommenderV1Controller < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
     @@ontologies = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.sample_owl_ontologies(process_submission: true)
     @@text = <<eos
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_replies_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_replies_controller.rb
index 41b15e2e..19a6ddd0 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_replies_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_replies_controller.rb
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 class TestRepliesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    ontologies = self.new("before_suite").create_ontologies_and_submissions(ont_count: 1, submission_count: 1, process_submission: false)[2]
+  def before_suite
+    ontologies = self.create_ontologies_and_submissions(ont_count: 1, submission_count: 1, process_submission: false)[2]
     @@ontology = ontologies.first
 
     @@reply_user = "test_reply_user"
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_search_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_search_controller.rb
index 99134eed..1e98a84a 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_search_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_search_controller.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 class TestSearchController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
+     self.backend_4s_delete
      count, acronyms, bro = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions({
       process_submission: true,
       acronym: "BROSEARCHTEST",
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     @@test_pc_child.save
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     @@test_pc_root.delete
     @@test_pc_child.delete
     LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_slices_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_slices_controller.rb
index 308b9fb7..e1250ba2 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_slices_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_slices_controller.rb
@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@
 
 class TestSlicesController < TestCase
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     ont_count, ont_acronyms, @@onts = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions(ont_count: 1, submission_count: 0)
-
     @@slice_acronyms = ["tst-a", "tst-b"].sort
-    _create_slice(@@slice_acronyms[0], "Test Slice A", @@onts)
-    _create_slice(@@slice_acronyms[1], "Test Slice B", @@onts)
+    self.class._create_slice(@@slice_acronyms[0], "Test Slice A", @@onts)
+    self.class._create_slice(@@slice_acronyms[1], "Test Slice B", @@onts)
 
     @@user = User.new({
                         username: "test-slice",
@@ -15,13 +14,13 @@ def self.before_suite
                         password: "12345"
                       }).save
     @@new_slice_data = { acronym: 'tst-c', name: "Test Slice C", ontologies: ont_acronyms}
-    enable_security
+    self.class.enable_security
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     LinkedData::Models::Slice.all.each(&:delete)
     @@user.delete
-    reset_security
+    self.class.reset_security
   end
 
   def setup
diff --git a/test/controllers/test_users_controller.rb b/test/controllers/test_users_controller.rb
index 53bf520f..4a33a79a 100644
--- a/test/controllers/test_users_controller.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/test_users_controller.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 require_relative '../test_case'
 
 class TestUsersController < TestCase
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     # Create a bunch of test users
     @@usernames = %w(fred goerge henry ben mark matt charlie)
 
diff --git a/test/helpers/test_access_control_helper.rb b/test/helpers/test_access_control_helper.rb
index 1e3807d5..19b0ae0f 100644
--- a/test/helpers/test_access_control_helper.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/test_access_control_helper.rb
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 class TestAccessControlHelper < TestCaseHelpers
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
 
     @@usernames = ["user1", "user2", "user3", "admin"]
     @@usernames.each do |username|
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def self.before_suite
       )
       user.save
       user.bring_remaining
-      self.class_variable_set(:"@@#{username}", user)
+      self.class.class_variable_set(:"@@#{username}", user)
     end
 
     @@admin.role = [LinkedData::Models::Users::Role.find(LinkedData::Models::Users::Role::ADMIN).first]
@@ -42,8 +42,9 @@ def self.before_suite
     LinkedData.settings.enable_security = true
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
-    LinkedData.settings.enable_security = @@old_security_setting if class_variable_defined?("@@old_security_setting")
+  def after_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+    LinkedData.settings.enable_security = @@old_security_setting unless @@old_security_setting.nil?
   end
 
   def test_filtered_list
diff --git a/test/helpers/test_application_helper.rb b/test/helpers/test_application_helper.rb
index b90aa30f..2315a677 100644
--- a/test/helpers/test_application_helper.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/test_application_helper.rb
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 class TestApplicationHelper < TestCaseHelpers
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     @@ontologies = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions[2]
   end
 
diff --git a/test/helpers/test_http_cache_helper.rb b/test/helpers/test_http_cache_helper.rb
index 944198a6..8a88cc55 100644
--- a/test/helpers/test_http_cache_helper.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/test_http_cache_helper.rb
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 class TestHTTPCacheHelper < TestCaseHelpers
 
-  def self.before_suite
+  def before_suite
     raise Exception, "Redis is unavailable, caching will not function" if LinkedData::HTTPCache.redis.ping.nil?
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
-    ontologies = self.new("before_suite")._ontologies
+    self.delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+    ontologies = self._ontologies
     @@ontology = ontologies.shift
     @@ontology_alt = ontologies.shift
     @@ontology.bring_remaining
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     LinkedData.settings.enable_http_cache = true
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     LinkedData.settings.enable_http_cache = @orig_enable_cache
     LinkedData::HTTPCache.invalidate_all
   end
diff --git a/test/helpers/test_slices_helper.rb b/test/helpers/test_slices_helper.rb
index 165a2a7e..e776c155 100644
--- a/test/helpers/test_slices_helper.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/test_slices_helper.rb
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 
 class TestSlicesHelper < TestCaseHelpers
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    self.new("before_suite").delete_ontologies_and_submissions
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+
     @@orig_slices_setting = LinkedData.settings.enable_slices
     LinkedData.settings.enable_slices = true
     @@onts = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions(ont_count: 5, submission_count: 0)[2]
     @@group_acronym = "test-group"
-    @@group = _create_group
+    @@group = self.class._create_group
     @@onts[0..2].each do |o|
       o.bring_remaining
       o.group = [@@group]
@@ -30,6 +31,10 @@ def self.before_suite
     LinkedData::Models::Slice.synchronize_groups_to_slices
   end
 
+  def after_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+  end
+
   def test_filtered_list
     get "http://#{@@group_acronym}.dev/ontologies"
     assert last_response.ok?
diff --git a/test/helpers/test_users_helper.rb b/test/helpers/test_users_helper.rb
index 6cd5bd50..9f1614f1 100644
--- a/test/helpers/test_users_helper.rb
+++ b/test/helpers/test_users_helper.rb
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@
 
 class TestUsersHelper < TestCaseHelpers
 
-  def self.before_suite
-    @@user = _create_user
-    @@non_custom_user = _create_user("notcustom")
+  def before_suite
+    self.backend_4s_delete
+    @@user = self.class._create_user
+    @@non_custom_user = self.class._create_user("notcustom")
 
     @@onts = LinkedData::SampleData::Ontology.create_ontologies_and_submissions({
       ont_count: 5,
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     LinkedData.settings.enable_security = true
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     LinkedData.settings.enable_security = @@old_security_setting
   end
 
diff --git a/test/middleware/test_rack_attack.rb b/test/middleware/test_rack_attack.rb
index 47e30a52..92b4d636 100644
--- a/test/middleware/test_rack_attack.rb
+++ b/test/middleware/test_rack_attack.rb
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 RACK_CONFIG = File.join([settings.root, "config.ru"])
 
 class TestRackAttack < TestCase
-
-  def self.before_suite
+  
+  def before_suite
     # Store app settings
     @@auth_setting = LinkedData.settings.enable_security
     @@throttling_setting = LinkedData.settings.enable_throttling
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     $stderr = File.open("/dev/null", "w")
 
 
-    @@port1 = self.new('').unused_port
+    @@port1 = unused_port
 
     # Fork the process to create two servers. This isolates the Rack::Attack configuration, which makes other tests fail if included.
     @@pid1 = fork do
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def self.before_suite
       Signal.trap("HUP") { Process.exit! }
     end
 
-    @@port2 =  self.new('').unused_port
+    @@port2 = unused_port
     @@pid2 = fork do
       require_relative '../../config/rack_attack'
       Rack::Server.start(
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def self.before_suite
     sleep(5)
   end
 
-  def self.after_suite
+  def after_suite
     # Restore app settings
     LinkedData.settings.enable_security = @@auth_setting
     LinkedData::OntologiesAPI.settings.enable_throttling = @@throttling_setting
diff --git a/test/test_case.rb b/test/test_case.rb
index 0e91aa69..dba7d327 100644
--- a/test/test_case.rb
+++ b/test/test_case.rb
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@
 
 require_relative 'test_log_file'
 require_relative '../app'
-require 'minitest/unit'
+require 'minitest/autorun'
+require 'minitest/hooks/test'
 require 'webmock/minitest'
-MiniTest::Unit.autorun
 WebMock.allow_net_connect!
 require 'rack/test'
 require 'multi_json'
@@ -62,7 +62,9 @@ def safe_redis_hosts?(sh)
   $stdout.flush
 end
 
-class AppUnit < MiniTest::Unit
+class AppUnit < Minitest::Test
+  include Minitest::Hooks
+
   def count_pattern(pattern)
     q = "SELECT (count(DISTINCT ?s) as ?c) WHERE { #{pattern} }"
     rs = Goo.sparql_query_client.query(q)
@@ -90,23 +92,27 @@ def backend_4s_delete
     end
   end
 
-  def before_suites
+  def before_suite
     # code to run before the first test (gets inherited in sub-tests)
   end
 
-  def after_suites
+  def after_suite
     # code to run after the last test (gets inherited in sub-tests)
   end
 
-  def _run_suites(suites, type)
-    begin
-      before_suites
-      super(suites, type)
-    ensure
-      after_suites
-    end
+  def before_all
+    super
+    backend_4s_delete
+    before_suite
+  end
+
+  def after_all
+    after_suite
+    super
   end
 
+
+
   def _run_suite(suite, type)
     begin
       backend_4s_delete
@@ -124,12 +130,12 @@ def _run_suite(suite, type)
   end
 end
 
-AppUnit.runner = AppUnit.new
+
 
 # All tests should inherit from this class.
 # Use 'rake test' from the command line to run tests.
 # See http://www.sinatrarb.com/testing.html for testing information
-class TestCase < MiniTest::Unit::TestCase
+class TestCase < AppUnit
   include Rack::Test::Methods
 
 
@@ -220,16 +226,12 @@ def self.reset_to_not_admin(user)
   end
 
   def unused_port
-    max_retries = 5
-    retries = 0
-    server_port = Random.rand(55000..65535)
-    while port_in_use?(server_port)
-      retries += 1
-      break if retries >= max_retries
-      server_port = Random.rand(55000..65535)
-    end
-    server_port
+    server = TCPServer.new('127.0.0.1', 0)
+    port = server.addr[1]
+    server.close
+    port
   end
+
   private
   def port_in_use?(port)
     server = TCPServer.new(port)