TEGDroid: Test Case Generation Approach for Android Apps Considering Context and GUI Events

The advancement in mobile technologies has led to the production of mobile devices (e.g. smartphone) with rich innovative features. This has enabled the development of mobile applications that offer users an advanced and extremely localized context-aware content. The recent dependence of people on mobile applications for various computational needs poses a significant concern on the quality of mobile applications. In order to build a high quality and more reliable applications, there is a need for effective testing techniques to test the applications. Most existing testing technique focuses on GUI events only without sufficient support for context events. This makes it difficult to identify other defects in the changes that can be inclined by context in which an application runs. This paper presents an approach named TEGDroid for generating test case for Android Apps considering both context and GUI Events. The GUI and context events are identified through the static analysis of bytecode, and the analysis of app’s permission from the XML file. An experiment was performed on real world mobile apps to evaluate TEGDroid. Our experimental results show that TEGDroid is effective in identifying context events and had 65%-91% coverage across the eight selected applications. To evaluate the fault detection capability of this approach, mutation testing was performed by introducing mutants to the applications. Results from the mutation analysis shows that 100% of the mutants were killed. This indicates that TEGDroid have the capability to detect faults in mobile apps

Gambaran Minyak Goreng Yang Dipakai Penjual Penyetan Di Tembalang Semarang

Praktek penggorengan dapat mempengaruhi kualitas minyak dan makanan yang digoreng.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan minyak goreng yang dipakai oleh penjual penyetan yang berjualan di sekitar Kecamatan Tembalang Semarang.Jenis penelitian ini adalah Observasional Deskriptifdengan jumlah responden 35 penjual penyetan.Variable yang diamati yaitu gambaran minyak goreng seperti jenis minyak yang digunakan, kondisi penyimpanan minyak goreng, waktu penggantian minyak, praktik penambahan minyak goreng baru dengan minyak goreng bekas.Informasi gambaran minyak goreng diperoleh dari wawancara menggunakan kuesioner. Dari hasil wawancara menunjukkan sebagian besar responden sebanyak 65,7% responden menggunakan minyak goreng curah untuk menggoreng menu penyetan, 2,9% responden tidak menyimpan minyak goreng dalam wadah tertutup, sebanyak 65,7% tidak mengganti minyak goreng dari buka warung hingga tutup warung, sebanyak 68.8% responden menambhakan minyak goreng bekas dengan minyak goreng baru selama proses berjualan.Berdasarkan hasil penelitian tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa sebagian besar minyak goreng yang digunakan oleh penjual penyetan di Tembalang Semarang berpotensi untuk mengalami penurunan kualitas

In vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of methanol and n-hexane extracts of Phoenix dactylifera fruits

Phoenix dactylifera fruits, commonly known as date fruits are consumed worldwide because of their nutritional and pharmacological values owing to their nutrients and phytoconstituents compositions. This study was undertaken to evaluate and compare anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of methanol and n-hexane extracts of P. dactylifera fruits in Wistar rats. Egg albumin and carrageenan-induced inflammation models were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities, while acetic acid and formalin-induced pain models were used to evaluate the analgesic activities in Wistar rats. Each model comprised of eight groups of three rats each. Groups administered with 300 mg/kg bw and 600 mg/kg bw of the n-hexane and methanol extracts, respectively exhibited maximum percentage inhibition. The maximum percentage inhibitions of methanol extract on egg albumin and carrageenan, acetic acid and formalin-induced pain at 600 mg/kg bw. (67.24% and 64.22%, 63.33% and 65.32%, respectively) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the n-hexane extract at 300 mg/kg bw. (56.90% and 52.94%, 50.00% and 52.56%, respectively). Conclusively, both extracts possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, with methanol extract showing greater activity. These activities may be due to the presence of tannins, saponins, but most especially flavonoids in both extracts

In-vitro antioxidants, antimicrobial and toxicological evaluation of Nigerian Zingiber officinale

Abstract Background Zingiber officinale is a rhizome commonly consumed as a delicacy, medicine or spice. It is considered as a safe spice with several medicinal properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate in-vitro antioxidants, antimicrobial and safety of Nigerian Z. Officinale. Methods Methanol extract of Nigerian Z. Officinale (MEZO) was evaluated for phytochemical composition, total flavonoids and phenol contents using standard procedures. Antibacterial study was carried out via the agar well diffusion method. Antioxidant activities were carried out using 2, 2′- diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant properties (FRAP) assay. Twenty five (25) wister rats were randomly grouped into five (A-E) of five animals each. Animals in Groups A-D were orally administered 75,150, 300 and 600 mg/kg bwt of the extract on daily basis for 4 weeks while those in Group A (control) received distilled water. Results Total phenolic and flavonoids contents of the extract were 15.24 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g and 19.84 ± 0.32 mg/g CE respectively. The extract promoted an inhibition of free radicals with IC50 values of 47.05 ± 2.03 μg/mL and 89.15 ± 0.29 μg/mL in DPPH and FRAP assay. At extract concentration of 100 μg/mL, K. pneumoniae showed the highest susceptibility of 29.04 ± 0.35 mm, followed by P. aeuruginisa (26.03 ± 0.41 mm), while S. aureus (15.08 ± 0.20 mm) was least susceptible. The serum concentrations of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), sodium, albumin, total proteins and the computed organs/body weight ratios compared favorably (p > 0.05) with control at all extract doses tested. The bilirubin, urea and creatinine levels significantly (p < 0.05) increase while chloride decreases in rats dosed 600 mg/kg bwt. However, potassium level increases significantly (p < 0.05) in rats dose 300 mg/kg of the extract when compare with the control. Conclusion This study revealed the strong antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of methanol extract of Nigerian Zingiber officinale. It was also found to be relatively safe for consumption and thus could serve as a source of candidate for the development of new antioxidants and antimicrobial drugs

Therapeutic Potency of Mono- and Diprenylated Acetophenones: A Case Study of In-Vivo Antimalarial Evaluation

Malaria remains a febrile infection of public health concern in many countries especially tropical countries in Africa and certain countries in Southern and North America such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Ecuador. Hence this has made research into this area paramount. Acetophenones are active fragments in many compounds with promising antimalarial activity, such as chalcones. The aim of the present study was to investigate antimalarial activity of 3,5-diprenyl acetophenone (I) and 5-diprenyl acetophenone (II) in in vivo. In this study, compounds I and II were synthesized using an aromatic substitution reaction. The in-vivo antimalarial potential of compounds I and II was analyzed in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Our data showed that compound I (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg) had promising antimalarial activity, with parasitemia inhibited rate being 68.03, 65.16, and 69.75%, respectively. Compound II dose-dependently inhibited parasitemia levels, it demonstrated an infinitesimally higher activity (72.12%) when compared with compound I (69.75%) at 100 mg/kg dose. The two compounds passed the rule of three, Lipinski's rule of five, predicted plausible pharmacokinetic profile (ADME), and apparent safety profile, and demonstrated drug-like fragments. The study provided guidance in exploring novel antimalarial compounds based on the scaffolds of prenylated acetophenones

Neural stem cell research in Africa: current realities and future prospects

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are immature progenitor cells that are found in developing and adult brains that have the potential of dividing actively and renewing themselves, with a complex form of gene expression. The generation of new brain cells in adult individuals was initially considered impossible, however, the landmark discovery of human neural stem cells in the hippocampus has been followed by further discoveries in other discreet regions of the brain. Investigation into the current state in Africa of the research and use of NSCs shows relatively limited activities on the continent. Information on the African application of NSCs for modelling disease mechanisms, drug discovery, and therapeutics is still limited. The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)-African Regional Committee (ARC), with support from the Company of Biologists, and the Movement Disorder Society, sponsored the first African Basic School on NSC in Ibadan, Nigeria, with the vision of bringing together young neuroscientists and physicians across different fields in neuroscience to learn from leaders who have applied NSCs in stem cell research, the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, neuroanatomy, and neurotherapeutics. Twenty early-career researchers in academic institutions at junior and senior faculty cadres were selected from South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria. The students and organizer of the school, who wrote this review on the state of NSCs research in Africa, recommended the following: (1) other African countries can take a cue from South Africa and Nigeria in probing the phenomena of adult neurogenesis in unique animal species on the continent; (2) Africa should leverage the expertise and facilities of South African scientists and international collaborators in scaling up NSC research into these unique species and (3) Centers of Excellence should be established on the continent to serve as research hubs for training postgraduate students, and facilities for African scientists who trained overseas on NSCs

An Assessment of Ovarian Cancer Histotypes Across the African Diaspora

ObjectiveOvarian cancer in Black women is common in many West African countries but is relatively rare in North America. Black women have worse survival outcomes when compared to White women. Ovarian cancer histotype, diagnosis, and age at presentation are known prognostic factors for outcome. We sought to conduct a preliminary comparative assessment of these factors across the African diaspora. MethodsPatients diagnosed with ovarian cancer (all histologies) between June 2016-December 2019 in Departments of Pathology at 25 participating sites in Nigeria were identified. Comparative population-based data, inclusive of Caribbean-born Blacks (CBB) and US-born Blacks (USB), were additionally captured from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Florida Cancer Data Systems. Histology, country of birth, and age at diagnosis data were collected and evaluated across the three subgroups: USB, CBB and Nigerians. Statistical analyses were done using chi-square and student's t-test with significance set at pResultsNigerians had the highest proportion of germ cell tumor (GCT, 11.5%) and sex-cord stromal (SCST, 16.2%) ovarian cancers relative to CBB and USB (p=0.001). CBB (79.4%) and USB (77.3%) women were diagnosed with a larger proportion of serous ovarian cancer than Nigerians (60.4%) (p<0.0001). Nigerians were diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancers at the youngest age (51.7 +/- 12.8 years) relative to USB (58.9 +/- 15.0) and CBB (59.0 +/- 13.0,p<0.001). Black women [CBB (25.2 +/- 15.0), Nigerians (29.5 +/- 15.1), and USB (33.9 +/- 17.9)] were diagnosed with GCT younger than White women (35.4 +/- 20.5, p=0.011). Black women [Nigerians (47.5 +/- 15.9), USB (50.9 +/- 18.3) and CBB (50.9 +/- 18.3)] were also diagnosed with SCST younger than White women (55.6 +/- 16.5, p<0.01). ConclusionThere is significant variation in age of diagnosis and distribution of ovarian cancer histotype/diagnosis across the African diaspora. The etiology of these findings requires further investigation