Magnus Ågren

Amelogenins promote an alternatively activated macrophage phenotype in vitro

Amelogenins are extracellular matrix proteins used for the topical treatment of chronically inflamed tissues. The influence of amelogenins on human monocyte-derived macrophages was studied by measuring the concentrations of cytokines in culture supernatants. The interactions of cells and protein aggregates were visualised by transmission electron microscopy. The amelogenin treatment of macrophages increased several pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, including alternative macrophage activation marker AMAC-1 (p < 0.001) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; p < 0.001). The levels were independent of cytochalasin B, although amelogenin aggregates were ingested by macrophages. Amelogenin effect was compared with that of tyrosine-rich amelogenin peptide, which apart from augmented VEGF levels (p < 0.05), had no significant influence on the other cytokines analysed. In conclusion, amelogenins increased the macrophage release of key cell mediators involved in tissue repair. The effect was independent of phagocytosis, implying a receptor-mediated signal. The markedly increased levels of AMAC-1 suggest that amelogenins promote a reparative macrophage phenotype.

Continuous Integration Beyond the Team: A Tooling Perspective on Challenges in the Automotive Industry

The practice of Continuous Integration (CI) has a big impact on how software is developed today. Shortening integration and feedback cycles promises to increase software quality, feature throughput, and customer satisfaction. Thus, it is not a surprise that companies try to embrace CI in domains where it is rather difficult to implement. In this paper we present our findings from two rounds of interviews with a car manufacturer on the use of tools in system engineering and how these tools would support wider adoption of CL Our findings suggest a complex tool landscape with immense requirements that are not easily fulfilled by existing tools; this holds also for tools that well support CI in other domains. From this notion, we further explore what makes the automotive domain challenging when it comes to CI (namely complexity of system and value chain). We hope that our findings will help address such challenges.

A Proposal for an Automotive Architecture Framework for Volvo Cars

During the past twenty years vehicles have become more and more robot like, interpreting and exploiting input from various sensors to make decisions and finally commit actions that were previously made by humans. Such features will require continuous evolution and updates to ensure safety, security, and suitability for supporting drivers in an ever changing world. Modern vehicles can have over 100 Electronic Control Units (ECUs), which are small computers, together executing gigabytes of software. ECUs are connected to each other through several networks within the car, and in some cases also to the outside world. This need for addressing ever increasing complexity as well as for offering flexibility, support of continuous evolution, and very late changes in user visible features introduces new challenges for developing and maintaining a suitable electronic architecture. In this paper we report the current investigation of the Volvo Cars to create an architecture framework tailored to the needs of future vehicles.