CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGE IN JORDAN: AN UPDATE.

This study examined the recent level, trends and determinants of consanguineous marriage in Jordan using time-series data from the Jordan Population and Family Health Surveys (JPFHSs). According to the 2012 JPFHS, 35% of all marriages were consanguineous in Jordan in 2012. There has been a declining trend in consanguinity in the country, with the rate decreasing from a level of 57% in 1990.

Identifying Optimal Models of Evolution.

Most phylogenetic methods are model-based and depend on models of evolution designed to approximate the evolutionary processes. Several methods have been developed to identify suitable models of evolution for phylogenetic analysis of alignments of nucleotide or amino acid sequences and some of these methods are now firmly embedded in the phylogenetic protocol. However, in a disturbingly large number of cases, it appears that these models were used without acknowledgement of their inherent shortcomings.