The effect of dietary coenzyme Q10 supplementation on egg quality and liver histopathology of layer quails under cadmium challenge.

The demand for quail eggs has been increased over the last decade due to its beneficial nutritional quality characteristics; however, different nutritional and environmental stressors adversely impact the quality of the produced eggs. This study was conducted to investigate whether dietary supplementation of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) could mitigate the negative impact of cadmium (Cd) administration on egg quality and liver histopathology. A total of 162 six-week-old laying Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were randomly allotted into three experimental groups. Treatments were as follows: (1) negative control (NC): feeding basal diet; (2) positive control (PC): feeding basal diet and Cd administration; and (3) CdQ10: feeding basal diet supplemented with CoQ10 (900 mg/kg diet) and Cd administration. Cadmium (10 mg/kg BW) was subcutaneously administrated at 10 and 11 weeks of age (woa). Feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg production, egg mass, mortality rate, Cd residue in egg, liver histopathology, and some internal and external egg quality indices were evaluated. Administration of Cd increased FCR in the PC group, but supplementation of CoQ10 partially ameliorated the impact of Cd on FCR (p < 0.05). Cadmium administration decreased both egg production and egg mass; however, CoQ10 supplementation partially mitigated these adverse effects of Cd injection in the CdQ10 compared to the PC group (p < 0.05). Cadmium decreased eggshell thickness and Haugh unit in PC quail compared to both NC and CdQ10 quail (p < 0.05). Moreover, egg yolk colour intensity was enhanced by CoQ10, where a* and b* indices were higher in CdQ10 compared to PC (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the current results demonstrate the beneficial effects of dietary CoQ10 supplementation on liver histopathology and some egg quality indices of Cd-challenged quail.

Effect of heat treatment on joint properties of laser-welded Ag-Au-Cu-Pd and Co-Cr alloys.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effect of heat treatment on the strengths of laser-welded cast Ag-Au-Cu-Pd and Co-Cr alloys. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cast plates of Ag-Au-Cu-Pd (Ag) and Co-Cr (Co) alloys were prepared. After polishing the surfaces to be welded, the plates were matched and butted Ag to Ag (Ag/Ag), Co to Co (Co/Co), and Ag to Co (Ag/Co) and welded using Nd:YAG laser at a pulse duration of 10 ms, spot diameter of 1 mm, and voltage of 200 V. Five specimens were prepared for each experimental condition by bilaterally welding them with five spots. The Ag/Ag, Ag/Co, and control Ag underwent two heat treatments-softening (ST) and hardening (AH). A group of as-cast specimens serving as controls was not given either heat treatment. The failure load and percent elongation were measured at a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/min. RESULTS: The fracture resistance of Co/Co was similar to that of the control Co, while the fracture resistance of Co/Ag was significantly lower than that of both like alloy pairings for all heat-treating conditions. The control Ag had greater fracture resistance after AH and lower fracture resistance after ST. The AH treatment increased the fracture resistance, and the ST treatment decreased the fracture resistance of both Ag/Ag and Co/Ag, although not significantly. The percentage of elongation appeared to positively correlate with the fracture resistance results. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study indicated that the age-hardening heat treatment increased the weld strength between the paired Au-Ag-Cu-Pd alloys and between the Au-Ag-Cu-Pd and Co-Cr alloys.