RESUMO
Objective: There is a significant need in Pakistan to investigate the psychological effects of infertility on the mental health of infertile men. The current study examined how fear of intimacy affects neuropsychological impairment and evaluated its relationship to other variables including quality of life and mental toughness. Method: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on infertile male patients in various healthcare settings in Punjab, Pakistan. The participants were recruited using a non-probability (purposive) sampling strategy. The sample size was 120 infertile. SPSS 26 was used to analyze the data. Results: Fear of intimacy was found significant impact on neuropsychological impairment (r = 0.40; ***p < 0.001), as well as fear of intimacy, significantly associated with emotional problems (r = 0.48; **p < 0.01), learning problems (r = 0.33; **p < 0.01), sensory and motor problem (r = 0.55; **p < 0.01), concentration problem (r = 0.21; **p < 0.01), mental & physical in coordination (r = 0.37; **p < 0.01) and depression (r = 0.22; **p < 0.01). Fear of intimacy has negative impact on QoL (r = -0.25; *p > 0.05). Similarly, neuropsychological impairment was found to be negatively associated with QoL (r = -0.52; **p > 0.01). The relationship between fear of intimacy and neuropsychological impairment was found to be significantly mediated by QoL. Furthermore, the findings revealed that mental toughness significantly moderated the relationship between fear of intimacy and neuropsychological impairment. Conclusion: Overall, infertile men in Pakistan had relatively high levels of fear of intimacy, which largely caused neuropsychological impairment. This study can help neuropsychological researchers, mental health professionals, as well as policymakers in improving clinical mental health practices for infertile patients.
RESUMO
The current study investigates the impact of fear related to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease on situational humor, and also on social networking sites (SNS) usage as a mediator. Furthermore, this study investigates the impact of fear-related COVID-19 disease on situation humor via SNS usage, focusing on the gender perspective of university students. This study also examined the impact of fear related to COVID-19 disease on situational humor in students from various degree programs, such as BS and MS. For this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 24 different Pakistani universities using purposive sampling between December 2020 and May 2021. This study used social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (and also email) to collect data online. According to the findings of this study, fear related to COVID-19 disease was found to be significantly negatively related to situational humor and SNS usage, whereas SNS usage was positively related to situational humor. The findings also revealed that SNS usage is a key mediator in the relationship between fear related to COVID-19 disease and situational humor. In addition, male university students used more SNS and had a higher situational humor response than female university students, and female university students reported a higher fear related to COVID-19 disease. This study provided useful findings of the impact of fear related to COVID-19 disease on situational humor among students in various academic programs, such as bachelor's program and master's program.
RESUMO
The aim of the study was to estimate the impact of mechanical deweeding on the community structure of phytophilous macroinvertebrates. The eutrophic lake selected for the study was Dal Lake in the Kashmir Himalayas. The dissolved nutrient concentration was found to be highest in August and September, i.e., nitrates-nitrogen (513 µg l(-l)) and total phosphorus (685 µg l(-l)). During the period of investigation, a total of 22 macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded which belonged to phylum Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. The samples were collected with the help of a composite Gerking frame box and grappler. Mechanical deweeding had a profound impact on the population density of phylum Mollusca and Arthropoda followed by Annelida. However, family Tubificidae was not influenced by deweeding, as the harvester only trimmed the vegetation, and these organisms were recorded in the sediment of the lake. On average, the reference site had higher density of macroinvertebrates as compared to deweeded areas. The abundance of macroinvertebrates decreased from 200 ind. (individuals) m(-2) in the reference site to 51 ind. m(-2) in the deweeded site as a result of weed removal. Species richness and composition of major macroinvertebrates in harvested and unharvested areas of the lake were also dissimilar as portrayed by biotic indices vis-à-vis Shannon diversity index, evenness index, and Simpson index.