When repeating spoken sentences, children who are good readers tend to be more accurate than poor readers because they are able to make more effective use of phonetic representation in the service of working memory (Mann, Liberman & Shankweiler 1980). This study of good and poor readers in the third grade has assessed both the repetition and comprehension of relative-clause sentences to explore more fully the association between early reading ability, spoken sentence processing and use of phonetic representation. It was found that the poor readers did less well than the good readers on sentence comprehension as well as on sentence repetition, and that their comprehension errors reflected a greater reliance on two sentence-processing strategies favoured by young children: the minimum-distance principle and conjoined-clause analysis. In general, the pattern of results is consonant with a view that difficulties with phonetic representation could underlie the inferior sentence comprehension of poor beginning readers. The finding that these children place greater reliance on immature processing strategies raises the further possibility that the tempo of their syntactic development may be slower than that of good readers.

Extracorporeal video microscopes, or “exoscopes,” provide high-definition views of the operative field and are alternatives to the operating microscope or loupes for large-corridor surgical approaches. In this proof-of-concept study, we aim to determine the feasibility of 3-dimensional exoscopes as alternatives to operating microscopes in otology and neurotology, espeically in conjunction with endoscopes. Eleven consecutive cases were performed using 3-dimensional exoscopes in place of, or as adjuncts to, the operating microscope. The exoscope was the sole visualization tool in 7 cases, with 4 including the use of an endoscope or microscope. There were no perioperative complications. Potential subjective advantages include superior ergonomics, compact size, and an equal visual experience for surgeons and observers. Limitations include low lighting in small surgical corridors and pixilation at high magnification. Exoscopes are potentially viable alternatives to the microscope in otologic and neurotologic surgery.

Children with specific reading disability fail to understand some complex spoken sentences as well as good readers. This investigation sought to identify the source of poor readers' comprehension difficulties. Second-grade good and poor readers were tested on spoken sentences with restrictive relative clauses in two experiments designed to minimize demands on working memory. The methodological innovations resulted in a high level of performance by both reader groups, demonstrating knowledge of relative clause structure. The poor readers' performance closely paralleled that of the good readers both in pattern of errors and in awareness of the pragmatic aspects of relative clauses. The findings suggest that limitations in processing account for comprehension difficulties displayed by some poor readers in previous investigations.