Startup has skin in the game

A Colombian company offering new hope to burn victims and other patients who suffer skin tissue loss is one of the 26 MassChallenge top finalists who'll compete on Oct. 30 for a piece of the start-up accelerator's $1.5 million in cash prizes.

Keraderm was founded in Bogota in 2010 by a group of plastic surgeons, who set out to find an affordable, painless way of treating tissue loss resulting from burns, ulcers, tumors and trauma.

The typical treatment calls for a graft to be taken from a patient's healthy skin and meshed to cover a large wound — a surgical procedure that often results in severe pain, significant scarring and, sometimes, rejection by the patient's body.

But Keraderm's team found that by taking a sample of healthy skin less than one centimeter in diameter from behind a patient's ear, within five to seven days they could reproduce the skin cells and plant them on a collagen sheet four times the size of a business card to cover the wound, said Jorge Soto, the company's chief financial officer.

"It starts to heal the injury by accelerating the growth of healthy skin cells," Soto said. "In 20 to 40 days, the wound is completely healed."

The patent-pending procedure, which eliminates the need for an operating room and anesthesia as well as the possibility of rejection, has been successfully done on more than 100 patients so far in 11 different hospitals in Colombia and entails no pain or scarring, he said.

A 10-by-10-centimeter sheet of skin also costs $550, significantly less than a skin graft operation does.

"There are other variations of what we're doing," Soto said, "but we haven't been able to find anyone doing the same thing."

Keraderm hopes to expand the procedure in Latin America before bringing it to the United States, where it would need to be tested in a clinical trial to gain regulatory approval.

That's a process that would take the kind of money the company, which has only eight employees including Soto, does not yet have, he said.

The team bootstrapped the start-up with $50,000 and in 2012 raised an additional $300,000 from angel investors, allowing it to open a lab in Bogota that June, Soto said.

But even if Keraderm doesn't win any money in MassChallenge, he said, the four-month accelerator, for which they were selected out of a field of nearly 1,200 applicants, has been worth it.

"I never even thought I was going to be here," Soto said. "It's going to help me a lot to show we have a product that is working."

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Shutdown coverage benefits cable news networks

NEW YORK — The federal government shutdown damaged the reputations of Washington politicians but proved good business for the cable television news networks — and taught some reporters new benefits of virtually instant communications.

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC saw their viewership increase during the 16-day partial shutdown, peaking at more than five million Wednesday evening when Congress passed a compromise bill to put the government back online.

"It was a drama," said CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash, who logged many hours of airtime along with Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News and Mike Emanuel of Fox. "Whenever there's a drama, people are interested."

MSNBC, which has struggled in this post-election year, saw its average prime-time viewership jump 35 percent to 978,000 this month through Wednesday, compared to the first nine months of the year, the Nielsen company said. Fox, which chose not to make any of its reporters available for this story, was up 9 percent to 2.22 million in the same period (although the network also benefited from a prime-time schedule change this month). CNN improved by 11 percent to 721,000.

The news networks brought their traditional hallmarks of crisis coverage to the political machinations, including "countdown clocks" that marked each second closer to a debt limit deadline. The story meant brutal hours: O'Donnell, who filed for MSNBC, CNBC and NBC News, was at work past 3 a.m. Eastern the first night of the shutdown, then back at 6 a.m. for "Morning Joe."

There were many strong points to the coverage, particularly when reporters didn't fall back on cliches like declaring winners and losers for an event that did few people proud, said Jane Hall, a journalism professor at American University.

"It certainly gave voice to the American people disgusted over this and there were a number of good stories about the impact of the shutdown on government workers," Hall said.

Social media was a big help, O'Donnell said. She would hear from people outside the Capitol cocoon through Twitter and email, with many raising questions she used in her reporting. She was asked how the shutdown would affect Social Security or back pay for government workers. NBC used a "dearcongress" hashtag on Twitter to encourage questions.

Sometimes the concerns were very specific, like when shrimp fishermen asked about access to launches on federal land, which she took to an individual congressman in the affected area.

"That was a real-time experience of the shutdown that did not compare to anything in a crisis that we had covered before," O'Donnell said.

In the past, Bash said she'd often need to plead with producers for time off the air to report. In this case, it wasn't really necessary: Her sources would text, tweet or email information while she was on the air. When President Barack Obama spoke to the nation on Thursday, Bash had instant reaction from several Republicans minutes after he left the podium.

When Republicans and Democrats weren't talking to each other, Bash found that they would talk through her.

"I'll report something or I'll tweet something and I'll get a call from a source pushing back or trying to shape it — not because it's a message to the world, but because it's a message to the other side," she said.

Bash would set up live shots in the hallway between Speaker John Boehner's office and the floor of the House of Representatives, a passageway teeming with sources.

Even though TV reporters love few things more than airtime, by the end even that was wearing off.

"There's always a rush in covering a big story," Bash said. "But at a certain point, you want your government to work a little better, regardless of what you do for a living."

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EDITOR'S NOTE — David Bauder can be reached at dbauder@ap.org or on Twitter@dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder.

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AP CEO: Press freedom v. security a 'false choice'

DENVER — Governments that try to force citizens to decide between a free press and national security create a "false choice" that weakens democracy, and journalists must fight increasing government overreach that has had a chilling effect on efforts to hold leaders accountable, the president and CEO of The Associated Press said Saturday.

Gary Pruitt told the 69th General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association that the U.S. Justice Department's secret seizure of records of thousands of telephone calls to and from AP reporters in 2012 is one of the most blatant violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the 167-year-old news cooperative has ever encountered.

The Justice Department action involving the AP resonated far beyond the U.S., including Latin America, where journalists for decades have fought to exercise press freedoms under authoritarian regimes, Pruitt said.

"The actions by the Department of Justice could not have been more tailor-made to comfort authoritarian regimes who want to suppress the news media. 'The United States does it too,' they can say," Pruitt said.

A free and independent press "differentiates democracy from dictatorship; separates a free society from tyranny," he said.

"Governments who try to set up a situation where citizens think they must choose between a free press and security are making a mistake that will ultimately weaken them, not strengthen them. It's not a real choice. It is a false choice."

Pruitt said he was encouraged by proposed Justice Department guidelines, introduced after the records seizure, that would give news media advance notice of subpoenas so the press can challenge those actions in court; protect not just phone records but reporters' email, text messages and other forms of electronic communication; and guarantee that journalists won't be prosecuted for doing their jobs.

"But you can bet that we will be watching closely to make sure they are implemented and enforced," Pruitt said.

In 2012, the Justice Department secretly obtained records of work, cell and home numbers of AP journalists, as well as AP bureau numbers in New York, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Conn., and the AP number in the U.S. House of Representatives press gallery. It did so after an Associated Press story revealed the foiling of a plot in Yemen to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner at a time the Barack Obama administration was insisting publicly that it had no information about terrorist organizations plotting attacks on the United States in that period.

The Justice Department was trying to identify who leaked information for the AP story — but it didn't tell the AP about its phone records seizure until a year after the story ran.

The seizure was "hardly a surgical strike on a few carefully chosen targets. It was overbroad, sloppy and a fishing expedition into a wide spectrum of AP news journalism and journalists — most of whom had nothing to do with the issues in question here," Pruitt said.

It also differed from the National Security Agency's broad monitoring of global communications because it was specifically directed at locating the source of AP's reporting.

Just as alarming, the seizure has intimidated both official and nonofficial sources from speaking to the AP and numerous other news organizations, even about stories not related to national security, Pruitt said.

"Now, the government may love this. I think they do. But beware a government that loves secrecy too much," he said.

And the challenge isn't going away, Pruitt said.

"The attack on journalism — here in the United States and throughout the rest of the world — is not going to cease any time soon. In fact, I think it will become even more difficult to counter as technology gives governments very powerful tools to monitor the actions and communications of citizens and journalists," he said.

The Miami-based Inter American Press Association has about 1,400 member news organizations and promotes press freedoms throughout the Americas.

___

English URL: www.ap.org/content/press-release/2013/the-free-press-vs-national-security-a-false-choice

Spanish URL: www.ap.org/content/press-release/2013/libertad-de-prensa-vs-seguridad-nacional-un-falso-dilema

Portuguese URL: www.ap.org/content/press-release/2013/imprensa-livre-vs-seguranca-nacional-a-falsa-escolha

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Massport to hit up pols

Massachusetts Port Authority officials — already facing a ticking clock to grab vital federal funding — are prepping to start a Beacon Hill blitz this week to pitch a $300 million plan to dredge Boston Harbor, hoping to convince lawmakers to bankroll nearly a quarter of it.

The four-year project to deepen the Hub's vital maritime channels could double the amount of cargo containers that pass through Boston Harbor — a 
$42.5 million business for Massport last year — and will help it vie for the bigger cargo ships primed to hit East Coast ports starting in 2015, officials say.

But they admit they're already playing catch-up to other ports' dredging projects, making lobbying efforts — both federally and at the state level — crucial to keeping them competitive.

"We want to make sure we're putting our best foot forward and make the case for federal funding, and make the case for state funding. But it's kind of a chicken-and-egg process," Massport CEO Thomas Glynn said, noting the board has yet to vote on the project but could within four months. "We have to tell the board, then we have to go to the State House, so we kind of go back and forth."

Their first targets are East Boston lawmakers, whose sometimes prickly history with the agency mean Massport pitches always require a grain of salt, said Eastie state Rep. Carlo Basile.

"I just don't take their word for it. I do my own due diligence," said Basile, who plans to meet with Massport officials Tuesday. He admitted he's aware of little to no complaints from past dredging projects rolled out in 2001, 2005 and 2008, but warned, "that's not to say it can't happen this time."

"It's a much bigger project," Basile said. "I'm still waiting to hear a lot of details."

Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis, said, "We talk with legislators all the time on a host of things," but noted for the dredging project officials are starting with lawmakers from "impacted communities" before moving on to others.

Massport officials are counting on as much as 
$170 million in federal money for the project, with $65 million each coming from the agency and the state.

Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey, who chairs the Massport board, implored members that "we shouldn't do anything right now that would preclude us from the $170 million," likening the shot at the federal funds to waiting for Halley's Comet.

"You can call it Davey's Comet," he told the board during a Thursday meeting.

When Congress will act to award the money, however, is unclear, especially in the wake of the government shutdown, Glynn said.

"Everything is up for grabs down there until it's final," he said. "(Other ports) are a little bit ahead of us in terms of making their request ... but we have enough time. It's a question of it's a moving target."

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What to do when battery is on its last legs

I have a 2005 Hyundai Tucson with 90,000 miles on it. I've never had a problem since I purchased the vehicle, but I'm worried the battery will fail sometime soon because of its age. I'm planning to change the battery myself but I'm concerned about the computer and electronics due to the temporary loss of power during the replacement process. What should I do before and after changing the battery?

Just drive the car. Replacing the battery, which of course requires disconnecting the vehicle's electrical system from the original battery, will do no harm to the vehicle's electronics. You'll likely have to reset the radio station pre-sets and the engine management system will take a few miles of driving to "re-learn" your driving characteristics, but you probably will not notice anything.

Perhaps the more relevant question at this point is: Should you replace the battery now or wait until it fails? Being a founding member of the "Snug America" club and not wanting to part with any more of my hard-earned dollars than absolutely necessary, I lean toward the latter. Most batteries will develop symptoms of impending failure such as slow engine cranking speeds, giving you a heads-up that it's time for a new one. But batteries can and do fail suddenly and completely without warning.

So when I suspect a battery might be on its last legs, I carry a portable battery booster in the vehicle. Then, if the battery does fail, — at any time and for any reason — I can jump-start the vehicle to complete my trip.

This, by definition, is the Murphy's Law of automobiles — if you have a spare part with you, you'll probably never need to use it!

And finally, to put your mind at ease, have the original battery tested at a local parts store. A load test or electronic test will give you an idea of how much life your battery still has.

I have a '93 Buick Riviera with the 3800 V6 engine and 182,000 miles. When I start the engine it makes a "thudding" noise four to five times. It has done this intermittently for the past three years. One mechanic told me it could be a cracked flywheel. Can you help?

Does this noise primarily occur on a cold start after the car's been sitting for at least several hours? Also, watch the oil pressure warning light carefully as you start the engine — do the "thuds" last precisely until the warning light goes out? If so, the noise may be due to worn main or rod bearings. Once oil pressure is up, the excess clearance is buffered by the oil film and the noise stops.

A cracked flex plate/flywheel or loose torque converter mounting bolts could cause a similar noise, but for three years without some type of failure? Other possibilities include a broken or failed engine/drivetrain mount or an engine startup misfire.

Regardless of the cause, at 20 years old and nearing 200,000 miles, I'm not sure I'd be willing to spend much on repairs. If the vehicle is still nice, keep an eye out for a used or rebuilt engine. Remember the automotive version of Murphy's Law.

We have a 2008 Buick Lucerne. This fall we will be leaving the state for about seven months. Should we disconnect the battery? Will this mess up the computers? Also, should I use a trickle charger or a float charger? What's the difference?

I recommend disconnecting the battery — it is safer and will cause no harm as described above — and connect a float charger or battery maintainer like Battery Tender to keep the battery safely charged while you're away.

A trickle charger continuously charges the battery at a low amperage rate, which can lead to overcharging and battery failure. A battery maintainer charges and holds the battery at its optimum voltage safely for an indefinite period.

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Globe holds off closer

The John Henry era will soon begin at The Boston Globe — though not as early as originally hoped — as the broadsheet prepares to end two decades under the control of its out-of-town overlords.

A source close to the deal told the Herald yesterday that finalizing the purchase and executing the formal transfer of the newspaper from the Times to the Red Sox owner — which had been expected to happen sometime over the weekend — likely won't take place until next week at the earliest.

Both the Globe and a rep for Henry declined comment yesterday, and a Times spokeswoman did not return calls or emails.

Henry announced in August he was buying the New England Media Group — which includes the Globe, Boston.com, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and related properties — for $70 million.

Since then, Henry has remained tight-lipped publicly about his long-term plans for the paper — including whether he will sell the Morrissey Boulevard building or cut staff. That silence has left Globe staffers on tenterhooks, said Alan Mutter, a former newspaper editor and an adjunct professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

"In the newsroom and elsewhere in the building, everyone's wondering what's going to happen next," said Mutter. "Their number-one primary concern is will they have a job ... There are all sorts of ways you can restructure the business and cut costs."

Had the deal occurred over the weekend, Henry could have been in the unusual position of printing the first edition of his new Globe reflecting the outcome of tomorrow's potential ALCS-clinching Red Sox game.

Meanwhile, analysts said it was long overdue for the Times to unload its local newspaper portfolio.

"They get (to get) rid of what they believe is a losing business," said analyst Ed Atorino of The Benchmark Company. "A lot of newspapers are struggling. In a way, there are so many problems at the Times, it probably became a distraction."

Said Mutter: "The New York Times clearly decided to sever everything that could be a distraction to the main brand. What they're getting is not so much money, but peace of mind — they don't have to worry about The Boston Globe anymore."

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Accord coupe adds some pizzazz

OK, so it may not be the Beach Boy's "Little Deuce Coupe," but the completely redesigned 2013 Honda Accord is a fun-to-drive two-door, six-speed that hits the market with flare.

It was built fresh from the ground up, with a new smooth, tight suspension that offers a quieter ride without giving up its legacy as a sporty handling sedan. I found the powerful 278 horsepower V6 to be quick, responsive and, best of all, more fuel efficient. I averaged nearly 26 miles per gallon in mixed, but spirited driving, and pushed past the high end of the 28 mpg estimate on the highway.

What was even more fun, though, was rocking through the six-speed while really driving the car. Working the gearbox, I found the throw a tad long for me, but the shift points were tight and super torquey. The coupe drives smaller than it looks and although it seats five, clambering into the back is for the more spry among us. This machine even has a hill assist, reducing some clutch fatigue.

Honda, under fire recently for its conservative design approach, has broken the mold and added some pizazz back into its lineup. The Accord, famous for its longevity, sportiness and reliability, looks to recapture its share of the highly competitive mid-size market. Shaking off a few years of pedestrian-looking sedans, the roof line has been lowered, styling sharpened and a more aggressive-looking nose added by Honda engineers who are listening to consumers' demands.

The interior fits the spirit of this rebuild with comfortable leather-trimmed seats and steering wheel and the safety features standard on the EX-L trim level included back-up camera, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and forward collision warning. I really liked how the infotainment center streamed my Pandora. The dash is streamlined with two gauges and car information readouts.

One tripup was the frustrating navigation system that I found to have too many drop down menus. Honda sticks with a toggle wheel for input instead of using the touch screen pad. Honda is using a Harmon-designed voice activation system that makes running the center a bit easier.

The loaded EX-L coupe's MSRP checks in with a base of $32,350 and we tested at $33,140, placing it on the higher end among the fully equipped cars in the category. But don't fret, a more modestly trimmed car can be had in the mid- $20,000s and good deals can be found on the 2013s.

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Stock market shakes off shutdown

Investors put the government shutdown and default threat behind them and got back to work yesterday, pushing the Standard and Poor's 500 index to a record close for the second straight day.

"We've already seen a shift in the discussion from how to deal with the issues at hand to let's talk about how to improve growth," said Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist for research firm IHS Global Insight.

Christine Armstrong, senior vice-president at Morgan Stanley, agreed. "We're back to business," she said.

The S&P 500, up 22 percent this year, added 11.35 points yesterday, or 0.7 percent, to a record 1,744.50. The Nasdaq composite was up 51.13 points, or 1.3 percent, at 3,914.28. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 28 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,399.65, and is 277 points below its own record.

Among the leaders yesterday was Google, rising 14 percent to above $1,000 a share for the first time after reporting third-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations. General Electric also reported higher than expected earnings, driving its shares up 3.5 percent. And Morgan Stanley jumped 2.6 percent on better than expected earnings.

Investors were relieved Washington extended the government's borrowing ability until Feb. 7 and funded the budget through Jan. 15. But Handler said there are still hazards that need to be dealt with.

"We really do need some sort of positive statement from Washington," he said.

And Armstrong believes the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the nation's economy will show itself in the coming months.

"This is a very tricky, dangerous market right now," she said.

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Harvard Square's iconic Upstairs to close

For more than three decades, it has been a fixture in Harvard Square, first as UpStairs at the Pudding and, since 2002, as UpStairs on the Square — in both its incarnations, a place that drew celebrities and locals alike for its eclectic menu and its Alice in Wonderland decor.

But on New Year's Eve, the iconic restaurant that Mary-Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes founded will close its doors for the last time after a grand finale fete with dancing and champagne to celebrate UpStairs' storied history.

"It's been a long and fruitful 31 years," Deibel said last night. "Now it's pedal to the metal so we have a great three months."

News that their landlord has decided to sell the building at 91 Winthrop St. came as a shock to those who have come to see it as a local landmark.

The restaurant opened in 1982 for Harvard's Hasting Pudding Woman of the Year, Ella Fitzgerald, and went on to host other celebrities over the years, including Bono, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts and James Franco.

"The restaurant has always been beautiful and fun, with its zebra prints, hot pink walls and chandeliers," said Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association. "It could make something as simple as a roast chicken dinner memorable. It will be sorely missed."

UpStairs had a particular appeal for young professional women who could meet there after work for drinks, Jillson said. Her personal favorite was the Jackie O'.

"I have no idea what was in it," she said. "I can only tell you that it was very effective."

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The Ticker

JP Morgan reaches $4B deal with feds

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reached a tentative $4 billion deal with the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle claims that the bank misled government-sponsored mortgage agencies about the quality of mortgages it sold to them during the housing boom, the Wall Street Journal reported online yesterday.

The deal is for less than the $6 billion the agency initially sought, the Journal said, citing people close to the discussions.

Ariad in trouble after failed study

Cambridge-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. is working on a new financial plan after increased risks of blood clots stopped a study aimed at expanding use of its only approved drug. The shares sank.

The study, called Epic, was testing Ariad's Iclusig against Novartis AG Gleevec in newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia. Iclusig is still on the market and the company is working with regulators on changing the drug's labeling to reflect the safety findings, Ariad said yesterday in a statement.

"It's the end of Ariad as we know it," Mike King, an analyst with JMP Securities, said yesterday. The risks will relegate Iclusig to "break glass in case of emergency" use only, said King, who predicted the company may fire workers and halt plans to expand its headquarters.

Ariad will work in the next few weeks to put a new financial and operating plan in place, Chief Executive Officer Harvey Berger told analysts and investors on a conference call. It's premature to discuss the potential for a partnership or sale of the company, he said in response to a question.

"We are working as a team on a substantially revised financial plan that will extend out our cash runway substantially beyond where we are today," Berger said. "We're taking a fresh look at every component of our budget, every near- and long-term expenditure," he said, citing clinical trials, facilities and people.

Ariad plunged 41 percent to $2.67 at the close in New York yesterday, extending a record drop that started when the study enrollment was first halted earlier this month. The shares have lost 86 percent this year.

BMC gets two research awards

Boston Medical Center has been approved to receive two research awards from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. One will fund a study of the delivery of cancer care to patients who face socio-legal barriers and the other a test of the effectiveness of integrative medical group visits for treating chronic pain.

THE SHUFFLE

• Thomas Hilditch, left, has been appointed a regional vice president of the 18,000-plus member Institute of Real Estate Management. His expertise includes site operations, staff development, budgeting, building systems, and community relations.
• Gary D. Hoffstein joins Needham-based Salus Capital Partners as the senior vice president, chief information officer, responsible for managing the direction of technology to support the firm's continued growth through strategic planning and evaluation.

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