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A new series of dual low nanomolar benzothiazole inhibitors of bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV were developed. The resulting compounds show excellent broad-spectrum antibacterial activities against Gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis , Enterococcus faecium and multidrug resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus strains [best compound minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs): range, <0.03125–0.25 μg/mL] and against the Gram-negatives Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae (best compound MICs: range, 1–4 μg/mL). Lead compound 7a was identified with favorable solubility and plasma protein binding, good metabolic stability, selectivity for bacterial topoisomerases, and no toxicity issues. The crystal structure of 7a in complex with Pseudomonas aeruginosa GyrB24 revealed its binding mode at the ATP-binding site. Expanded profiling of 7a and 7h showed potent antibacterial activity against over 100 MDR and non-MDR strains of A. baumannii and several other Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. Ultimately, in vivo efficacy of 7a in a mouse model of vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus thigh infection was also demonstrated.

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The aim of this study is to investigate how the poor, relative to the wealthier, benefitted from recent improvements in health insurance coverage, maternity care utilisation (modern contraceptive use, antenatal care visits, facility delivery, and skilled birth attendants), and under-five mortality in Kenya. The analysis relies on the latest two waves of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey and a theoretical framework with three different inclusiveness (pro-poorness) concepts. Our results are quite robust to pro-poorness concepts and poverty definitions. The main result is that the poor experienced larger improvements in all investigated health aspects compared to the rich (irrespective of the poverty concept) when changes are measured in relative terms. When we investigate changes in absolute terms, we find a similar pattern, except in the case of health insurance coverage and the presence of a skilled birth attendant during delivery. Our analysis is expected to inform policymaking aiming to achieve universal health coverage.