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Vasudeva Reddy Netala,1 Murali Satyanarayana Bethu,2,3 Bobbu Pushpalatha,1 Vijaya Bhaskar Baki,4 Sani Aishwarya,1 J Venkateswara Rao,2 Vijaya Tartte5 1Department of Biotechnology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, 2Biology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, 3Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi, 4Department of Bioinformatics, 5Department of Botany, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India Abstract: An endophytic fungal strain isolated from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre was identified as Pestalotiopsis microspora VJ1/VS1 based on nucleotide sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region (ITS 1-5.8S-ITS 2) of 18S rRNA gene (NCBI accession number KX213894). In this study, an efficient and ecofriendly approach has been reported for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous culture filtrate of P. microspora. Ultraviolet-visible analysis confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs by showing characteristic absorption peak at 435 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of phenolic compounds and proteins in the fungal filtrate, which are plausibly involved in the biosynthesis and capping of AgNPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the AgNPs were spherical in shape of 2–10 nm in size. Selected area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction studies determined the crystalline nature of AgNPs with face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice phase. Dynamic light scattering analysis showed that the biosynthesized AgNPs possess high negative zeta potential value of -35.7 mV. Biosynthesized AgNPs were proved to be potential antioxidants by showing effective radical scavenging activity against 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and H2O2 radicals with IC50 values of 76.95±2.96 and 94.95±2.18 µg/mL, respectively. The biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited significant cytotoxic effects against B16F10 (mouse melanoma, IC50 =26.43±3.41 µg/mL), SKOV3 (human ovarian carcinoma, IC50 =16.24±2.48 µg/mL), A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma, IC50 =39.83±3.74 µg/mL), and PC3 (human prostate carcinoma, IC50 =27.71±2.89 µg/mL) cells. The biosynthesized AgNPs were found to be biocompatible toward normal cells (Chinese hamster ovary cell line, IC50 =438.53±4.2 µg/mL). Cytological observations on most susceptible SKOV3 cells revealed concentration-dependent apoptotic changes that include cell membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, pyknotic nuclei, karyorrhexis followed by destructive fragmentation of nuclei. The results together in this study strongly provided a base for the development of potential and versatile biomedical applications of biosynthesized AgNPs in the near future. Keywords: AgNPs, Pestalotiopsis microspora, 18S rRNA, SKOV3, B16F10, AO-EB staining

Background: The increasing rate of maternal obesity in reproductive age group is a major challenge to obstetricians, as it can result in adverse outcomes for both women and foetuses making the pregnancy a high risk one. Aim and objectives of the study: Aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of obesity on maternal and perinatal outcome, in obesity complicating pregnancies. Objective is to assess the risk of obesity related complications in pregnancy by comparing with pregnancies with normal BMI. Methodology: Prospective cohort study done between January 2017 – January 2018 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Gitam Institute of Medical Sciences and Research - hospital, deemed to be University, Visakhapatnam. Results: One hundred and five pregnant (105) women with BMI > 30kg/m2 and two hundred and ten (210) pregnant women with BMI 18.5kg/m2 to 25kg/m2 were selected and were followed prospectively. Obese group had 9.35 fold increased risk of gestational diabetes, 7.0 fold increased risk of preeclampsia and increased caesarean delivery rate (56.57%). There were increased admissions to NICU among newborns of obese women (25.26%) when compared to control group (8.37%). Conclusion: Pregnancies in obese women should be regarded as high risk pregnancies and appropriate antenatal, intranatal and post-natal care should be provided with heightened surveillance, with anticipation, early diagnosis and prompt intervention.