Goat semen is different from that of other domestic species in its limited tolerance to the inclusion of egg yolk in the freezing medium, and this tolerance depends on the presence of enzymes in the seminal plasma that react with egg yolk, producing toxic compounds to the spermatozoa. Moreover, the goat is a seasonal breeder that shows variations in semen quality throughout the year, and those variations may affect semen freezability; hence in freezing protocols, for instance, removal of seminal plasma (washing) yields varying results. This work was designed to study this problem in Canary goats: semen from six males was collected in spring, autumn or winter, washed or non-washed, diluted in a freezing extender with 1.5, 6 or 12% egg yolk, frozen, and thawed after 2 days, 2 or 6 months of cryopreservation. The effect of egg yolk concentration in the freezing extender was far more important than the effect of washing or season on sperm cryosurvival. The quality of frozen-thawed semen tended to improve as egg yolk concentration increased regardless of the effects of season, washing or period of cryopreservation. Washing produced a positive effect on frozen-thawed semen collected during spring or autumn, but the difference decreased as the concentration of yolk increased. However, washing produced a negative effect on frozen-thawed semen collected during winter, diluted with either 6 or 12% egg yolk. There was no apparent seasonal effect on gross measures of sperm production but the seasonal effect was ever present and was reinforced by freezing.

One hundred forty-one children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were screened for serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) antigliadin antibodies by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. None of them had gastrointestinal symptoms, and no major nutritional disturbances were detected except for a girl with moderate growth delay. Twelve patients with positive IgA antigliadin antibodies on two or more consecutive measurements underwent a small intestinal biopsy; four of them had a subtotal villous atrophy, and celiac disease was diagnosed; in another patient, a partial villous atrophy was observed. Children suffering from both diabetes and celiac disease showed an onset of diabetes at a younger age than did nonceliac patients. Prevalence of celiac disease in the screened population is 2.85%, which is higher than in the general population of the Comunidad Valenciana (one in 2,500 live births).

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ContentsPlasma concentrations of pregnancy!associated glycoproteins "PAG# were determined in goats during pregnancy by two hom! ologous radioimmunoassays that employed caprine PAG 44¦51 "caPAG 44¦51 # and caprine PAG 44¦48 "caPAG 44¦48 # and their speci_c antisera[ The e}ects of fetal number on PAG con! centrations were analysed[ The concentrations of caPAG 44¦51 were higher than that of caPAG 44¦48 throughout pregnancy "p ³ 9[94#[ Both caPAG 44¦51 and caPAG 44¦48 reached maximal levels in week 7 "37[5 2 4[9 and 29[3 2 3[2 ng:ml\ respectively#\ decreased between weeks 01 and 03 "34[4 2 1[4 to 20[8 2 1[6 ng:ml and 29[5 2 1[0 to 04[7 2 1[7 ng:ml\ respec! tively\ p ³ 9[90# and remained relatively constant until partur! ition[ Twin!bearing goats had higher PAG concentrations than single!bearing animals\ but the di}erence was only signi_cant in week 3 "41[2 2 2[6 versus 29[8 2 2[8 ng:ml and 07[8 2 0[6 versus 01[5 2 1[9 ng:ml\ for caPAG 44¦51 and caPAG 44¦48 \ respectively\ p ³ 9[94#[ This is the _rst study of PAG con! centrations in goat throughout pregnancy by a homologous radioimmunoassay system[ The pro_les of caPAG 44¦51 and caPAG 44¦48 were closely parallel[ Concentrations of PAG were lower than those obtained by a heterologous radioimmuno! assay and their patterns were also di}erent\ due to a di}erent speci_city of the antisera used in heterologous system[ Goats that delivered twins had higher PAG concentrations at the time of implantation than those that delivered a single fetus\ indicating that PAG concentrations provide a useful measure of the trophoblast secretory activity[

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