Definition and terminology of developmental language disorders-Interdisciplinary consensus across German-speaking countries.

In recent years, there have been intense international discussions about the definition and terminology of language disorders in childhood, such as those sparked by the publications of the CATALISE consortium. To address this ongoing debate, a Delphi study was conducted in German-speaking countries. This study consisted of three survey waves and involved over 400 experts from relevant disciplines. As a result, a far-reaching consensus was achieved on essential definition criteria and terminology, presented in 23 statements. The German term 'Sprachentwicklungsstörung' was endorsed to refer to children with significant deviations from typical language development that can negatively impact social interactions, educational progress, and/or social participation and do not occur together with a potentially contributing impairment. A significant deviation from typical language development was defined as a child's scores in standardized test procedures being ≥ 1.5 SD below the mean for children of the same age. The results of this Delphi study provide a proposal for a uniform use of terminology for language disorders in childhood in German-speaking countries.

Retrievability of implant-supported zirconia restorations cemented on zirconia abutments.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Retrievability of implant-supported restorations is important. Data are lacking for cemented zirconia crowns on zirconia abutments. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the influence of different cements and marginal discrepancy on the retrievability of implant-supported zirconia crowns. Furthermore, the influence of thermocycling on retrievability was evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty tapered Camlog zirconia abutments (6-degree taper, 6×4.3 mm) were used. Thirty zirconia crowns with 3 different marginal cementation discrepancies (70, 130, 190 µm) were fabricated by using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology. Five cements for interim or semidefinitive cementation were used: eugenol-free zinc oxide (Freegenol) and acrylurethane (ImProv) and 3 different composite resin cements (X-Pand Implant, Dyna Implant, Telio CS Cem Implant). Specimens underwent either 3-day storage in sodium chloride or thermocycling (10 000 cycles). Crowns were removed by using a universal testing machine (UTM) and a clinical removal device. Data were analyzed using 1-way ANOVA and the Scheffé test (α=.05). RESULTS: Thermocycling decreased the retention force significantly (P<.001). Marginal discrepancy (70 to 190 µm) was not significantly influential on retrievability (P>.05). Therefore, groups were pooled according to the factor of marginal discrepancy. The mean retention force using the UTM after 3-day storage and thermocycling was as follows: Freegenol, 235 ±42 N (thermocycling, 29 ±9 N); Improv, 110 ±50 N (thermocycling, 35 ±38 N); Telio CS, 104 ±17 N (thermocycling, 6 ±10 N); Dyna implant, 61 ±17 N (thermocycling, 1 ±1 N); and X-Pand, 50 ±16 N (thermocycling, 2 ±2 N). CONCLUSIONS: Retention forces of the tested cements were significantly different and decreased considerably after thermocycling. Marginal cementation discrepancy between 70 and 190 µm did not influence retrievability.

Nonverbal imitation skills in children with specific language delay.

Research in children with language problems has focussed on verbal deficits, and we have less understanding of children's deficits with nonverbal sociocognitive skills which have been proposed to be important for language acquisition. This study was designed to investigate elicited nonverbal imitation in children with specific language delay (SLD). It is argued that difficulties in nonverbal imitation, which do not involve the processing of structural aspects of language, may be indicative of sociocognitive deficits. Participants were German-speaking typically developing children (n=60) and children with SLD (n=45) aged 2-3 ½ years. A novel battery of tasks measured their ability to imitate a range of nonverbal target acts that to a greater or lesser extent involve sociocognitive skills (body movements, instrumental acts on objects, pretend acts). Significant group differences were found for all body movement and pretend act tasks, but not for the instrumental act tasks. The poorer imitative performance of the SLD sample was not explained by motor or nonverbal cognitive skills. Thus, it appeared that the nature of the task affected children's imitation performance. It is argued that the ability to establish a sense of connectedness with the demonstrator was at the core of children's imitation difficulty in the SLD sample.