Studies Towards a Chemical Origins of RNA: Divergent Prebiotic Synthesis of Pyrimidine and 8-oxo-Purines Ribonucleotides

Elucidating a prebiotic plausible nucleotide synthesis is considered one of the greatest challenges in the origins of life research. Although separate synthesis that account for the pyrimidine and purine ribonucleotides have been developed, no divergent synthesis from a single precursor has yet been developed that accounts for the synthesis of both pyrimidine and purine ribonucleotides. Furthermore, the reported prebiotic synthesis of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides are not mutually compatible and could not co-operate under similar conditions. This thesis proposes a divergent synthesis of both anhydro-pyrimidine and anhydro-purine ribonucleotides on a regiospecific sugar scaffold, followed by concurrent phosphorylation and chemical inversion to yield pyrimidines (3 and 4) and 8-oxo-purines (93 and 187) in the natural β-ribo-stereochemistry. This concomitant approach employs only feedstock small molecules that are consider to be prebiotically plausible and condition that are consider to be reasonable under early Earth geothermal conditions. Moreover, given that 8-oxo purines and pyrimidines ribonucleotides share a common prebiotic synthetic route, it is hypothesised that 8-oxo purines could have predated natural purines in biology and that they could have played an important role in the transition of chemistry to biology and facilitated the modern Watson-Crick base pairing system

ISLAMISASI SEKOLAH NEGERI: Upaya Dominasi Kelompok Islamis atas Ruang Publik (Studi Kasus SMU Rajawali Yogyakarta)

This thesis examines the islamization of public high school at the pre-university level. It analyses the condition contributes to the process of islamization in SMU Rajawali, as one of public high school in Yogyakarta. Furthermore, it seeks to illustrate the way of islamizing school environment and how the students respond toward that process. The study indicates that the process of islamization was supported by at least two factors. First, external factor, it was the need for Islamic missionary cadres that serves as an ideological apparatus for the continuing process of islamization. SMU Rajawali -as the ideological state apparatus that should serve the interests of the state- has been successfully controlled by the Islamist group for serving the interests of Islamic communitarian group. They work by way of recruiting individuals through Mentoring program and then transform them into Islamic missionary cadres who will act as agents of islamization. Second, internal factor, it was the school needs to keep its image as an Islamic Religious Education model that to some extent affects school bureaucracy acceptance to the process of islamization in the school milieu. SMU Rajawali encountered a process of islamization in the context of the strengthening of Islamist movement to conduct �islamization from below�. The process of islamization was built on the idea of �Islam kaaffah� and was driven by the scenario of 'Rajawali Darussalam'. Moreover, the process was supported by Muslim alumni association and a group of teachers, who were incorporated in the Teacher Forum and since the late 1980s was committed to support Islamic activism in the school. In doing their Islamic missionary activism (da�wah), they used many channels such as Student Orientation Program, Muslim alumni association, Islamic Studies Group (Kerohanian Islam), extracurricular activities and teachers. Through those channels they dominate school public space, which in turn lead to discrimination not only for non-Muslim students but also Muslim students who have different views with Muslim alumni association. They are also successful in encouraging school bureaucracy to make the �Islamic Mentoring Program� as a required activity for Muslim students. Despite forceful attempts of islamization in school milieu, but it has led to resistance and negotiation from a group of students, teachers and alumni. Some students who are called as the �Left group� showed their resistance by forming 'a rebel gang', wrote in the school magazine, did not actively engaged in Mentoring program, and refused to wear headscarves in school environment. Meanwhile, a group of teachers prefer not to take a fight openly to avoid a conflict that is perceived to be detrimental to the institution. The strong attempts for islamizing school, as well as the resistance efforts of some groups of students, teachers and alumni have illustrated a clash between Islamic communitarian group -that emphasizes adherence to Islamic values and Islamic communities, with non-Islamic communitarian group -that attempts to place the school on its function to provide public services and reinforce respect for human rights and diversity

Divergent prebiotic synthesis of pyrimidine and 8-oxo-purine ribonucleotides

Understanding prebiotic nucleotide synthesis is a long standing challenge thought to be essential to elucidating the origins of life on Earth. Recently, remarkable progress has been made, but to date all proposed syntheses account separately for the pyrimidine and purine ribonucleotides; no divergent synthesis from common precursors has been proposed. Moreover, the prebiotic syntheses of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides that have been demonstrated operate under mutually incompatible conditions. Here, we tackle this mutual incompatibility by recognizing that the 8-oxo-purines share an underlying generational parity with the pyrimidine nucleotides. We present a divergent synthesis of pyrimidine and 8-oxo-purine nucleotides starting from a common prebiotic precursor that yields the β-ribo-stereochemistry found in the sugar phosphate backbone of biological nucleic acids. The generational relationship between pyrimidine and 8-oxo-purine nucleotides suggests that 8-oxo-purine ribonucleotides may have played a key role in primordial nucleic acids prior to the emergence of the canonical nucleotides of biology