"Help me to decide": A study of human rights-based supported decision making with persons with intellectual disabilities.

Decision making is the basis for individual autonomy and societal participation. To support persons' human right to make life decisions, the model of supported decision making (SDM) has evolved and complies with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Models for implementing SDM and outcomes achieved by applying SDM in community settings remain insufficiently explored.

"The Flow that Pushes you": Christocentric Reflections on the Compassion Expressed by African American Youths in Chicago Suffering Profound Disadvantage.

Youth beset by community violence, racism, and deep poverty experience profound suffering, and it is important to learn about their strengths to support them. To that end, we asked African American youths in Chicago what made social services provided to them by the Empowering Counseling Program meaningful to them. Their responses focused on the giving and receiving of compassion.

"Love Your Love Life": Disadvantaged African American Adolescents Cocreate Psychoeducational Romantic and Sexual Health Resources.

Sexually transmitted disease transmission, dating violence, trafficking, and unplanned pregnancy disproportionately afflict disadvantaged African American adolescents, and social services to effectively remedy this crisis need improvement. Moreover, disadvantaged African American adolescents have been significantly underrepresented in mental health, social services, and best practices research, so existing evidence-based practice models are insufficiently inclusive of these adolescents' perspectives. As a remedy, this study describes a formative evaluation of a youth-led, participatory action-based summer and after-school program, Love Your Love Life.

Insulin-like growth factor-I enhances the biological activity of brain-derived neurotrophic factor on cerebrocortical neurons.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) act within the brain to enhance neuronal survival and plasticity. We extend these findings by showing that the presence of both neurotrophins is required to depress the rise in intracellular Ca2+ caused by glutamate in primary cultures of cerebrocortical neurons. IGF-I enhanced expression of BDNF receptors (Trk-B) and increased the ability of BDNF to induce ERK1/2 phosphorylation.