Notebook: February 2022

4 Steps to Boost Cyber Security for Small Businesses

Cyber-attacks on small businesses are on the rise, as is the cost of post-cyber-attack recovery, warns Mark Madrid in a recent US Small Business Administration blog post. Madrid cites ransomware as an especially concerning form of cyber-attack on small businesses. Ransomware infects and restricts access to a computer until a ransom is paid. It is usually delivered via a phishing email and exploits vulnerabilities in a business’s software.

Here are four steps small businesses can take to prevent and protect against ransomware attacks:

1. Train employees. Employee emails are a leading cause of data breaches for small businesses because they are a direct path into your systems. Training employees on basic internet best practices can go a long way in preventing cyber-attacks. Access www.stopransomware.gov for resources.
2. Back up critical business data. Your data should be backed up regularly and should be accessible off-site. Unplug backup drives from the internet. Use Cloud data storage solutions.
3. Use and automatically update antivirus software and antispyware. Equip your business computers with antivirus software and antispyware, available from a variety of vendors. Have updates installed automatically.
4. Secure your network. Use a firewall, encrypting information, and password protection. To hide your WiFi network, set up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name.

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Action Is the Key to Workplace Allyship

“Employees expect their organizations to do more than merely say they value diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). They want action.” That’s the message Sonia Aranza delivered during a session called “Allyship: How to Recognize and Disrupt Bias” for the Society of HR Management’s (SHRM) 2021 Inclusion conference. Aranza, CEO and principal consultant at Aranza Communications in Alexandria, Virginia, is the subject of a recent article in SHRM Online by editor Kathy Gurchiek.

“Saying you value DE&I and justice is no longer enough. [. . .] Allyship is your commitment to take action,” Aranza said during the session. “Plant your feet; take your warrior stance,” Aranza said. “Allyship is courageous action.” She also presented Do’s and Don’ts of workplace allyship. Here are some of them:

DO

• Commit to learning. “Seek input from the people [you] wish to ally with.”
• Promote empathy. “Empathy is you putting yourself in someone’s shoes. We’ve got to get out of our own dang shoes.”
• Embrace that “allyship is for the long haul, not just when it’s in vogue.”

DON’T

• Speak about solidarity without taking action.
• Try to prove how virtuous you are.
• Act only because “others are doing it, so we better do it, too.”

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Study Shows Cats Mentally Map Their Owner’s Location

In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers report findings from their observations of cats’ responses to hearing their unseen owner’s voice coming from different directions. The researchers, led by Saho Tagaki, department of psychology, Kyoto University, conclude: “Our results suggest that cats have mental representations about their out-of-sight owner linked to hearing the owner’s voice, indicating a previously unidentified socio-spatial cognitive ability.”

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Five Veterinary Managers Awarded 2021 VMG-CVPM Scholarships

Ingrid Culver	Kristen Fuller	David Hannan	Heike Mayes	Lindsey Shelton

 

Five veterinary professionals have received scholarships to help them attain the Certified Veterinary Practice Management (CVPM) credential. “The 2021 VMG-CVPM Scholarship applicants are an impressive group,” said Christine Shupe, CAE, Executive Directorof the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA). “The five scholarship winners and their practices should be extremely proud.”

Ingrid Culver became the practice manager at Maybeck Animal Hospital, Melbourne, Florida, in 2013 and is now the manager of Maybeck’s second clinic and a 10% owner. Since 2016, Culver, has been earning the college credits needed to qualify for CVPM. She said of the scholarship, “It makes me feel so good about what I have achieved.”

Kristen Fuller was hired by Rehm Animal Clinic, Mobile, Alabama, in 2015 to manage one of their four facilities. Six years later, she manages four of their five facilities. Earning the CVPM credential is very important to her. About winning the Scholarship, Fuller said, “The financial aspect is monumental, and to finally be able to earn this designation for my clinics is just incredible.”

David Hannan has worked for Veterinary Innovative Partners (formerly Northern Virginia Veterinary Associates) for 12 years, including 3.5 years as practice manager at his current Westchester, New York location. As a practice manager, Hannan has aimed for the CVPM credential. He said of the scholarship, “It’s nice to be recognized, and I look forward to continuing to expand on the reasons why I was selected.”

Heike Mayes has been a practice administrator since 2009 and has held the position for Seattle Veterinary Associates, Seattle, Washington, for 1.5 years. Her current role covers a four-location, privately owned practice group poised to add a fifth location. Mayes has always wanted to earn her CVPM certification. She said of the scholarship, “It is a real gift to be able to have support and backing to properly prepare myself to become the best person I can be and a CVPM.”

Lindsey Shelton became Vogel Veterinary Hospital’s practice manager in 2017. The hospital is owned by her father, a veterinarian, and her mother, the former practice manager. Shelton pursued a master’s degree in human resources and worked for other employers before 2017. She said of the scholarship, “[The CVPM credential] earns me credibility in my role here and in the veterinary hospital manager field.”

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Parallels in Canine and Human Oral Tumors Could Speed New Therapies

A common, nonlethal oral tumor in dogs closely resembles a rare, often devastating oral tumor in humans. The resemblance between the two tumors had been noted by scientists and clinicians, but no one had confirmed any molecular similarities. In 2019, Santiago Peralta, DVM, DAVDC, associate professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and his colleagues published a study in Veterinary and Comparative Oncology revealing that both the canine and human oral tumors share mutations in a well-known signaling pathway.

In a recent study appearing in Scientific Reports, Peralta and his team set out to better understand the biological consequences of these mutations. They discovered that the mutations were largely responsible for the tumors they were seeing. They also found that the canine and human tumors are very similar at a molecular level, reinforcing the notion that dogs represent a potentially useful natural model of the human tumor.

Because the canine tumors are much more common than the human tumors, researchers can rapidly enroll many more dogs in clinical trials and get more translatable data from those trials. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve made a major step toward that,” Peralta said. Any drugs that might prove effective in treating oral tumors in dogs could also be promising candidates for human patients.

New LINAC at UF Veterinary College Enhances Cancer Treatment for Animals

A new linear accelerator, or LINAC, is now available to animal patients at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The Edge LINAC allows the use of highly targeted radiation to deliver more precise and faster treatment of tumors within the abdominal cavity or the chest. It is manufactured by Varian and was made possible by a $3 million gift from the Gauntt Foundation in 2020.

One of the first patients to be treated using the new LINAC was a nine-year-old dog named Lincoln who was diagnosed with a tumor deep inside his chest that threatened his heart. Keijiro Shiomitsu, DVM, an associate professor of radiation oncology with the College of Veterinary Medicine, commented, “I was confident that Lincoln’s mass would likely respond well to radiation therapy [and] at the time of his last treatment, a cone-beam CT scan revealed that the mass showed shrinkage.”

Chris Adin, DVM, chair of the college’s department of small animal clinical sciences, said, “Lincoln’s case is a great example of a situation where we are now able to target tumors that we previously would have been unable to deliver radiation to successfully. The new Edge LINAC will be a game changer for us and for all of the animals we will now have the ability to treat that we never could before.”

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Household Noises Can Trigger Stress in Dogs

Pet owners may not recognize that common household noises are causing stress in their dog. Even a vacuum cleaner or microwave oven can trigger anxiety. These findings are reported by researchers at the University of California, Davis, in a study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. They report that high-frequency, intermittent noises rather than low-frequency, continuous noises are more likely to cause a dog anxiety and even pain.

Cringing, trembling, or retreating are some common signs of dog anxiety; other signs are more subtle. Some signs of stress that could be overlooked or misinterpreted include a dog panting, licking its lips, turning its head away, or even stiffening its body. Sometimes its ears will turn back, and its head will be lower than its shoulders.

“There is a mismatch between owners’ perceptions of the fearfulness and the amount of fearful behavior actually present [in their dog],” said lead author Emma Grigg, research associate and lecturer, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “We hope this study gets people to think about [. . .] sounds that might be causing their dog stress, so they can take steps to minimize their dog’s exposure to it.”

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