Recent opposing trends towards earlier physical maturation and later social maturation present a conundrum of apparent biological-social mismatch. Here we use life history analysis from evolutionary ecology to identify forces that drive these shifts. Together with findings in developmental science, our life history analysis indicates that adolescence is a distinctive period for biological embedding of culture. Ethnographic evidence shows that mass education is a novel feature of the globalizing cultural configurations of adolescence, which are driven by transformations in labour, livelihood and lifestyle. Evaluation of the life history trade-offs and sociocultural ecologies that are experienced by adolescents may offer a practical basis for enhancing their development.

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To further reveal the molecular mechanism underlying sexual differentiation of the mouse cerebral cortex and hippocampus, we reanalyzed our previous microarray study with Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment and found that the GO term “RNA binding” was over‐represented among the 89 sexually dimorphic candidate genes. Thus, we selected 16 autosomal genes annotated to the term RNA binding and profiled their mRNA expression in the developing male and female mouse cortex/hippocampus. During the first three weeks after birth, sex differences in mRNA levels of Khdrbs2, Nanos2, Rbm48, and Tdrd3 were observed in the mouse cortex/hippocampus. Of these genes, only the female‐biased expression of Rbm48 in neonates was abolished by prenatal exposure to testosterone propionate (TP), while postnatal treatment of TP three weeks after birth increased Rbm48 and Tdrd3 mRNA levels in both sexes. Regardless of sex, the postnatal cortex/hippocampus also showed a marked increase in the content of androgen receptor (Ar) and estrogen receptor β (Esr2), but a decrease in estrogen receptor α (Esr1) and aromatase (Cyp19a1), which might confer the different responses of Rbm48 to prenatal and postnatal TP. Our results suggest that androgen‐regulated, sexually dimorphic Rbm48 expression might present a novel molecular mechanism by which perinatal androgens control development of sexual dimorphism in cortical and hippocampal structure and function.

Background Approximately three quarters of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Vietnam have used a phone or tablet to search for sexual health information online, and over half of these men have used it to locate nearby service providers. As HIV prevalence continues to rise in Vietnamese MSM, smartphones and other electronic media may provide an ideal platform for HIV research and intervention. Here, we describe a pilot study of an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) application (app) and a wearable device (MC10 BioStamp) to monitor risk-taking behaviours and mental health symptomatology and assess the feasibility and acceptability of the app, and mobile health (mHealth) needs of MSM in Vietnam. MethodsWe recruited 50 participants from outpatient clinics and community-based organisations for MSM in Hanoi, Vietnam. For 1 week, participants completed brief surveys on their smartphone at six to eight random time-points every day. At each time-point, participants answered questions assessing: current mood; stress level; qualities of their current environment (including who they were with); mental health symptoms since last notification; risk behaviours; and GPS location (automatically recorded). They additionally wore two sensors on their chest and thigh, monitoring ambulatory heart rate and physical activity. After the week, participants were interviewed about their experiences using the application and were asked survey questions about what features they wanted in future mHealth-related apps.Findings Participants were identified from an existing dataset of MSM (n=198) and invited to return for the study between January and April 2019. Overall, participants reported few issues with the sensors; however, they had more concerns about the app. The most frequent complaints participants had were that the assessments were too repetitive, too frequent, and did not provide enough opportunity for in-depth qualitative responses. What participants most enjoyed about the app was that it provided an opportunity to share and to reflect on their moods and social interactions. To improve, participants felt the messaging needed to be more MSM-friendly and visually appealing, while providing occasional statistics on their weekly moods or behaviours. The most popular app features desired were the ability to talk directly to a service provider about ongoing health concerns (91%; 40/44), locate nearby PrEP providers (82%; 36/44), and locate a nearby HIV/STD testing centre (82%; 36/44).Interpretation This study found that mobile EMA apps and wearable technology are a feasible and acceptable way of monitoring mental distress and HIV risk among MSM in Vietnam. Given that many were already looking towards the app as a means to self-manage and acquire more health-related information, mobile technologies may be a natural platform for bridging research and intervention among this population.