BJ Energy Solutions was founded in 1872 as the Byron Jackson Company in Woodland, California by inventor Byron Jackson and at its peak operated in more than 50 countries worldwide.The link below from fundinguniverse.com tells how BJ was acquired by Hughes Tool and then became independent when Baker Tool bought Hughes and was recently acquired by Baker-Hughes.BJ Services Company is a leading worldwide provider of pressure pumping and oilfield services for the petroleum industry. Pressure pumping services consist of cementing and stimulation services used in the completion of new oil and natural gas wells and in remedial work on existing wells, both onshore and offshore. Oilfield services include completion tools, completion fluids, casing and tubular services, production chemical services, and precommissioning, maintenance and turnaround services in the pipeline and process business, including pipeline inspection.On April 28, 2010, the company was bought by Baker Hughes in a $5.5 billion stock and cash deal. Greenhill & Co. advised on the transaction.In December 2016, it was announced that Baker Hughes would be dividing off its North America Land Pressure Pumping division to form a new independent BJ Services Company. BJ Services is positioned with a strategic footprint to serve clients in all targeted North American basins. The new company will include ALLIED Services and ALTCEM. In addition to Baker Hughes, owners include Goldman Sachs and the private equity firm CSL Capital Management.On 20 July 2020, BJ Service filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.In September 2020, a group of private investors purchased the BJ brand along with a portion of the fracturing assets to create BJ Energy Solutions, LLC. The company operates in North American basins and utilizes Next-Generation Fracturing technology..
Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are a class of non-combustible, inhaled tobacco products with the potential to reduce the harm associated with cigarette smoking due to reduced cigarette smoke toxicant exposure. Subjective and nicotine pharmacokinetics measures taken over the course of product use provide a framework for abuse liability (AL) assessment of tobacco and nicotine products as well as information on adoption potential for a new tobacco product, which are important aspects for premarket tobacco product authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration. This study aimed to assess the AL of glo HTPs, operated in either Standard or Boost Modes, compared with high- and low-AL comparators (subjects’ usual brand cigarettes and nicotine gum, respectively). Nicotine uptake and pharmacodynamics measures (including subjective and physiological measures) were assessed in a clinical study of 75 healthy adult non-menthol or menthol smokers using an open-label, randomized crossover study design. Comparisons were made between glo HTPs (Standard or Boost Modes) and each of usual brand (UB) cigarettes and nicotine gum to evaluate nicotine exposure and subjective effects measures. Nicotine uptake, as reflected in the area under the curve (AUC) at 15 and 240 min after product use (AUC0-15 and AUC0-240, respectively) and maximum nicotine concentration (Cmax) were significantly lower for all glo HTPs compared to UB cigarettes, regardless of the glo device mode. AUC0-15 values for glo HTPs ranged from 41.26 to 75.71 ng × min/mL, versus 158.04 to 165.53 ng × min/mL for UB cigarettes. Similarly, AUC0-240 values for glo HTPs ranged from 379 to 596 ng × min/mL, compared to 1123.73 and 1283.37 ng × min/mL for UB cigarettes. The Cmax for glo HTPs ranged from 5.46 to 9.00 ng/mL, whereas UB cigarettes had Cmax values of 16.29 to 16.76 ng/mL. The time to reach maximum nicotine concentration (Tmax) was significantly shorter for glo HTPs (4–5 min) compared to UB cigarettes (6–7 min), except for one variant of glo HTP in Standard Mode. Nicotine gum exhibited a slower nicotine absorption profile, with a Tmax of 45 min and Cmax of 4.60 ng/mL. AUC0-15 and AUC0-240 values for nicotine gum were 6.18 and 5.22 ng × min/mL, and 647.80 and 687.68 ng × min/mL for non-menthol and menthol groups, respectively. Subjective measures indicated that glo HTPs were rated significantly lower than UB cigarettes in terms of product liking, smoking urge reduction, product effects, and intent to use again, but were comparable to nicotine gum. glo HTPs demonstrated lower AL than combustible cigarettes while delivering sufficient nicotine to support product adoption among current smokers. This positions glo HTPs as a potential tool in tobacco harm reduction, offering a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes. Clinical trial ID NCT05114863.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition in which a traumatic experience triggers symptoms related to re-experiencing, avoidance, arousal, and mood dysregulation. PTSD negatively impacts 6% of people during their lifetime, with women being disproportionally affected and exhibiting different, more severe symptoms than men. Despite this widespread impact, the molecular mechanisms underlying PTSD and its sex differences remain poorly understood. Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide which participates in fine-tuning circuitry throughout the brain and has been associated with PTSD in humans, especially in women. Here, we use Single Prolonged Stress (SPS), an animal model of PTSD, to explore the roles of PACAP and sex in PTSD-like behaviors. Specifically, a PACAP agonist or antagonist was infused into the infralimbic (IL) prefrontal cortex, a region key to regulating fear- and anxiety-related behaviors, prior to SPS in male and female rats. One week later, rats were tested in open field/novel object, elevated plus maze, and social interaction. Utilizing a behavioral indexing method, we were able to uncover SPS effects in PTSD-related behavioral domains that were differentially impacted by PACAP manipulations in males and females. While both sexes exhibited increased threat avoidance and decreased threat assessment following SPS, females increased sociability while males decreased sociability. Males also appeared to be protected by IL PACAP antagonism while female SPS phenotypes were exacerbated by IL PACAP agonism. Furthermore, RNAscope revealed that PACAP in the prefrontal cortex responds differently to SPS in males and females. Together, these findings suggest complex relationships between SPS, sex, and IL PACAP which may have important implications for treating PTSD in men and women. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Compared to cigarette smoke, heated tobacco product (HTP) aerosol contains significantly fewer and lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs). However, the impact on environmental air is relatively unexplored. Therefore, this study compared levels of secondhand aerosol (SHA) constituents in air following glo HTP use with secondhand smoke (SHS) constituents following cigarette smoking in an environmental test chamber (ETC). Extracted ETC air samples following product use sessions were analyzed for 27 SHS/SHA constituents, including HPHCs. The use of glo HTPs resulted in significantly lower SHA HPHC levels in the ETC air relative to SHS HPHC levels from cigarette smoking. Some aerosol constituents (benzene, CO, formaldehyde, nicotine, respirable suspended particles, toluene, ethylbenzene, fine particulate matter, m- and p-cresol, o-cresol, pyridine, styrene, and ultraviolet particulate matter) were either below the limit of detection in ETC air or at significantly low levels following glo HTP use relative to cigarette smoking. Mean concentrations of the assessed constituents were at least 90 % lower following use of glo HTPs compared to smoking combustible cigarettes. These results suggest that glo HTP use would not contribute significantly to indoor air contamination and would reduce non-user exposure to HPHCs and other harmful constituents relative to combustible cigarettes. Such reductions in non-user exposure should be considered when assessing the tobacco harm reduction potential of glo HTPs.
In recent years, the tobacco- and/or nicotine-containing product (TNP) portfolio has expanded to include products such as e-vapor products, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches. Although scientific papers and regulatory requirements/recommendations related to the assessment of product use behavior and exposure to product use have been published for these novel TNPs, there is great diversity in the terminology used to characterize and assess these types of products. The aim of this paper is to define the terms and methods used for assessing product use behavior and exposure, with the objective to suggest a uniform application of terms used by scientists working in this field of research. This publication is the work product of a cross-industry work item commissioned by the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) Product Use Behaviour and Biomarkers Subgroups.
The Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) is sponsoring a series of workshops to develop recommendations for optimal scientific and technical approaches for conducting in vitro assays to assess potential toxicity within and across tobacco and various next-generation products (NGPs) including heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDSs). This publication was developed by a working group of the workshop members in conjunction with the sixth workshop in that series entitled “Dosimetry for conducting in vitro evaluations” and focuses on aerosol dosimetry for aerosol exposure to combustible cigarettes, HTP, and ENDS aerosolized tobacco products and summarizes the key challenges as well as documenting areas for future research.
