U.S. Cholesterol Levels Dip To Ideal Range Experts Attribute The Drop To Increased Use Of Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Comment On This Post ATLANTA, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (CBS) Related Interactive Diet And Nutrition Are you eating right? See the government's guidelines, calculate your body mass index and quiz yourself on healthy food choices. Stories Fasting Mormons Offer Heart Disease Clues Party Hearty And Healthy For Holidays (AP) Americans may be too fat, but at least their cholesterol is low. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the average cholesterol level for U.S. adults is in the ideal range, the government reported Wednesday. Results from a national survey, which includes blood tests, found the total cholesterol level dropped to 199. Doctors like patients to have total cholesterol readings of 200 or lower. The growing use of cholesterol-lowering pills in people 60 and older is believed to be a main reason for the improvement, experts said. "These age groups are the ones most likely to be treated with medication," said Susan Schober of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead author of the report. The survey collects data in two-year intervals. The new results are based on a national sample of about 4,500 people age 20 and older from 2005-06. The new 199 level compares with 204 in 1999-2000. When the survey began in 1960, the average cholesterol was at 222. Researchers also found that the percentage of adults with high cholesterol - at least 240 - dropped to 16 percent, down from 20 percent in the early 1990s. Elective C-Section: 38th Week Too Soon? C-Section Before 39th Week Ups Baby Breathing Problems, Researchers Find Comment On This Post Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (CBS/The Early Show) Related Interactive HealthWatch Explore health issues including AIDS, cancer and antibiotics. Quiz Health Myths Quiz What do you REALLY know about about flu shots, arthritic pain, nightcaps, antiperspirants, and healing cuts? Stories New Research On Pregnancy Weight Gain Obesity Linked To Infertility In Women (WebMD) Babies born by elective C-section before the 39th week of pregnancy have a three- to fourfold higher risk of breathing trouble than babies whose mothers have a normal vaginal delivery. Elective C-section babies also have a fivefold higher risk of needing mechanical breathing assistance for serious respiratory trouble, find Anne Kirkeby Hansen, MD, and colleagues at Denmark's Aarhus University Hospital. "Mothers who choose elective cesarean section should be aware that the risk of respiratory problems is four times raised at 37 weeks' gestation vs. full-term, intended vaginal delivery," Kirkeby Hansen tells WebMD. "The rate of respiratory problems is 10 percent for elective C-section at 37 weeks, but it is 2.8 percent for intended vaginal deliveries. That is why we say you should never do elective cesarean section at 37 weeks." Kirkeby Hansen and colleagues gathered data on the 34,458 babies born in Aarhus, Denmark, from 1998 through 2006. Nearly 2,700 of these infants were delivered via elective C-section -- that is, the mother or her obstetrician opted for C-section without having a medical need to so. The researchers compared these infants to infants from women who tried to have a vaginal delivery, including women who ended up having a C section. After adjusting for factors that might affect the infant's breathing, Kirkeby Hansen and colleagues found that children delivered by elective C-section at 37 weeks' gestation had a 3.7-fold higher risk -- and at 38 weeks, a 3.0-f old higher risk -- of transitory tachypnea of the newborn (a condition sometimes called wet lung), respiratory distress syndrome, or persistent pulmonary hypertension (dangerously high blood pressure in the lungs). All of these conditions mean that a baby is placed in an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit for two days or so, Kirkeby Hansen says. Most children fully recover from these breathing problems, notes Emory University pediatrician Lucky Jain, MD. But the long-terms effects aren't clear. "Sometimes these babies get into bigger trouble in the neonatal ICU," Jain tells WebMD. "And what we don't yet understand well is the impact of two or three or four days of separation from the mother, of not initiating breastfeeding, and of exposure to bacteria that are not normally found in our bodies." Although it happened much less often, the Danish researchers found that children delivered via elective C-section at 37 weeks' gestation have a fivefold higher risk of serious breathing problems requiring oxygen therapy, a continuous positive air pressure device, or mechanical ventilation. For elective C-sections at 38 weeks' gestation, this risk is 4.2 times higher than for intended full-term vaginal delivery. Labor Good for Fetus What does a C-section have to do with a newborn's ability to breathe? As it leaves the liquid environment of the womb, a newborn faces the enormous challenge of making the transition to breathing air. Its fluid filled lungs must clear quickly, Jain notes. "There are many reasons why a baby born after elective C-section is more prone to delayed transition to air breathing," Jain says. "The first is reduced gestational age. And in the last trimester of pregnancy, every week counts. A 37-weeker is much more prone to respiratory issues than a 39-weeker." Kirkeby Hansen and Jain note that during labor, a woman secretes powerful stress hormones. This triggers stress-hormone secretion in her fetus. The hormones have two effects on the fetal lungs. They speed the absorption of liquid. And they increase secretion of surfactants, natural substances that help clear liquid from the lungs. "Once a woman is in labor, all this gets started," Kirkeby Hansen says. "In women who do not have labor, this process is not believed to start." Jain says labor is the most reliable sign that a baby is ready to be born. "When mother nature alls on spontaneous labor to start, it mostly is accurate in terms of the biologic clock and a good likelihood the baby is mature," he says. "But when we do it by elective C-section, we trust mothers' last-period dates or ultrasounds performed early in pregnancy, and those calculations are not always accurate." Nearly a third of U.S. pregnancies now end in C-sections, Jain says. Over the last decade, as the C-section rate has climbed, the average gestational age at birth for U.S. babies has dropped from 40 weeks to 39 weeks. On the one hand, Jain notes, research shows that delivering infants at 39 weeks' gestation or less cuts the risk of stillbirths. On the other hand, early delivery clearly has its own risks -- to the infant as well as to the mother. "The obstetric community has to get its arms around the fact that C-section has never been proven to be safer for the mother," Jain says. "A study that appeared last year showed that when you look at mothers with no identified risk who have had a C-section -- with no medical indication either from the mother or from the fetus -- there was higher mortality in the mother and in the baby." Kirkeby Hansen advises women seeking elective C-section to wait until the 39th week of their pregnancy. Smoking Linked To Type 2 Diabetes Smokers May Be More Likely Than Nonsmokers To Develop Type 2 Diabetes Dec .11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP / CBS) Related Special Report Diabetes Symptoms, treatments, and how to prevent it. Stories Depression Care Helps Diabetic Elders Diabetes Patients Facing A Shoe Snafu? Diabetes Drug May Up Elderly Deaths -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Diabetes Drugs Bad for Bones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sleep Habits Linked to Diabetes, Death -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wine Compound Spurs Diabetes Research -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diabetes Hospitalizes More Young Adults -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (WebMD) Smokers may be more likely than nonsmokers to develop type 2 diabetes , according to a new research review. The review included 25 studies of smoking and diabetes among a million people ages 16 and older in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Japan, and Israel. None of those people had type 2 diabetes when the studies started. But more than 45,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes during the studies, which lasted for five to 30 years. The reviewers analyzed all the data and concluded that the chance of developing type 2 diabetes was 44% higher for smokers than for nonsmokers. Heavy smokers -- people who smoke at least 20 cigarettes per day -- were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who smoke fewer cigarettes or ex-smokers. The pattern varied somewhat in its intensity but held for all but one of the reviewed studies. Still, the studies don't prove that smoking causes type 2 diabetes. Remedies Sought For Surgical Leftovers Report: Items Aren't Removed From 1,500 Patients A Year In U.S. Comments 3 NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Jeffrey Port and Julie Chen on The Early Show Wednesday (CBS/The Early Show) (CBS) A new report says surgeons leave something in a patient about 1,500 times a year in the United States, with possible serious medical consequences. One system being tested to try to limit the problem uses technology similar to that in EZ Pass-type tollbooths. Another uses bar codes like the ones in stores. The report says two-thirds of the items left behind are sponges, which "can lead to pain, infection, bowel obstructions, problems in healing, longer hospital stays, additional surgeries and in rare cases, death." Surgical instruments are also frequently what's left behind. Chest surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Port is part of a team working to cut down on surgical mistakes. He co-founded RF Surgical Systems (http://www.rfsurg.com), whose system uses RFID chips, like the ones in EZ-Pass-type units, to try to make sure everything that's supposed to come out of the patient after an operation makes it out. The system is being used at several hospitals and tested at others. He explained on The Early Show Wednesday that the chips are embedded in the items used in the surgery. When the procedure ends, doctors can scan the patient as a toll booth would scan an EZ Pass card. If something is detected inside, physicians know they need to retrieve it. The estimated added cost for an operation is $40. The other system under evaluation uses printed bar codes attached to instruments and sponges. The items are scanned on their way in, and scanned again on their way out. Port suggests that the bar code system may not be as reliable as the RFID chip approach, because bar codes need to be directly scanned, as they are at the supermarket, while RFID chips will turn up on a scan even if they're obscured. Port notes that, whichever system becomes the standard, whether it's his company's, the barcode one, or a future invention, the problem is indeed being addressed. Port explained that, in a surgical procedure, it's the nurses' responsibility to keep track of items such as sponges and clamps. They count them at the start, and count again at the end. But, some surgeries go beyond changes in nurses' shifts, and human error might produce an incorrect count. Also, many procedures involve just one nurse, and the counting tends to need to be done at the most critical moments during the procedure, when the nurse has many other important tasks to perform. Also, counting these things isn't as easy as it sounds. Items can be passed from one member of the surgical team to another with regularity, and tens or even hundreds of items are often involved. A procedure might use 200-300 gauze products alone. And, as a practical matter, the way sponges are used during surgery frequently leaves them stuck together in blood-soaked heaps, making them very hard to separate and count, and easy to miss. They also might fall on the floor or get stuck in the clothing of a member of the surgical team. If a count is made, and there is a discrepancy, the surgery needs to continue until everyone is satisfied that everything has been removed. That could mean more time for the patient on a ventilator, or under anesthesia, etc. Relatives who were expecting a certain surgery length are suddenly made to worry because the surgery is running beyond schedule. Or, in the worst-case scenarios, a delicate incision may need to be reopened, ruining the work that was just performed. The instances in which items are most likely to remain in the patient after surgery are the ones when the count at the end matches the count at the start, but the count at the end isn't actually correct. Eighty percent of items left in patients are gauze products --towels or sponges, Port says. The other 20% are clamps/retractors. Gauze can be a major threat to health if left behind. It can clump and cause blockages. It can mimic tumors. It can cause perforations in the intestinal wall/ bowel. It can cause infection and internal bleeding. Solid instruments like clamps and retractors can cause internal puncture wounds. Airports Serving Up Healthier Fare Survey: Dallas, Chicago and Detroit Head Healthy Foods List; Washington National, Atlanta, Miami On Other End Comment On This Post WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Getty Images) Related Section Travel All the latest news, tips and trends to go. Here's your vacation planning resource. (CBS) Traveling by air doesn't have to mean eating foods that are bad for you. A new survey finds there's a good chance you can find healthy entrees at many of America's busiest airports. An annual report just released by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine finds that 82 percent of the eateries checked offer at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free vegetarian entrée. It's the second straight year to get such high scores. The survey, now in its seventh year, examined food served at 15 of the busiest airports in the country. Study: Why Pregnant Women Don't Topple Scientists Study Why Pregnant Women Don't Topple And Find Center Of Gravity Adjusts WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP) Scientists think they have figured out why pregnant women don't lose their balance and topple over despite ever-growing weight up front. Evolution provided them with slight differences from men in their lower backs and hip joints, allowing them to adjust their center of gravity, new research shows. This elegant engineering is seen only in female humans and our immediate ancestors who walked on two feet, but not in chimps and apes, according to a study published in Thursday's journal Nature. "That's a big load that's pulling you forward," said Liza Shapiro, an anthropology professor at the University of Texas and the only one of the study's three authors who has actually been pregnant. "You experience discomfort. Maybe it would be a lot worse if (the design changes) were not there." Harvard anthropology researcher Katherine Whitcomb found two physical differences in male and female backs that until now had gone unnoticed: One lower lumbar vertebra is wedged-shaped in women and more square in men; and a key hip joint is 14 percent larger in women than men when body size is taken into account. The researchers did engineering tests that show how those slight changes allow women to carry the additional and growing load without toppling over _ and typically without disabling back pain. "When you think about it, women make it look so very damn easy," Whitcomb said. "They are experiencing a pretty impressive challenge. Evolution has tinkered ... to the point where they can deal with the challenge. "It's absolutely beautiful," she said. "A little bit of tinkering can have a profound effect." Walking on two feet separates humans from most other animals. And while anthropologists still debate the evolutionary benefit of walking on two feet, there are notable costs, such as pain for pregnant females. Animals on all fours can better handle the extra belly weight. Stem Cells May Ease Muscular Dystrophy Modified Stem Cells From Muscular Dystrophy Patients Ease Symptoms In Mice, Study Finds NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP) Modified stem cells from muscular dystrophy patients eased symptoms of the disease in mice, says a small study that raises hopes for treating patients with tissue from their own bodies. The mice showed stronger muscles and ran longer on a treadmill than diseased mice that weren't treated. Other experimental treatments for muscular dystrophy have also produced encouraging results in lab animals, but experts said the new study shows promise for yet another approach. The paper focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting genetic disorder appearing in boys that occurs in about 1 in every 3,500 male births. It's the most severe and most common childhood form of muscular dystrophy. Boys with Duchenne dystrophy have trouble walking as early as preschool, and nearly all of them lose their ability to walk between ages 7 and 12. Typically, they die in their 20s because of weakness in their heart and lung muscles. There is no known cure. The idea of treating people with their own cells is attractive because their bodies would not be expected to reject the cells as foreign. So they wouldn't have to take drugs to prevent rejection. The new study used stem cells taken from the muscle of Duchenne patients. These "adult" cells differ from embryonic stem cells, which are controversial because scientists must destroy embryos to harvest them. The work is published in the December issue of Cell Stem Cell by scientists from the University of Milan in Italy, and elsewhere. It used mice that had a version of Duchenne and whose immune systems don't reject foreign tissue. Duchenne is caused by a mutated gene that prevents cells from producing a crucial protein. So just putting stem cells from patients with the faulty gene into the mice wouldn't have done any good. Instead, researchers inserted DNA into the cells to make them ignore the mutation. As a result, they produced a shortened but functioning version of the protein. W.Va. Program Pushes Pedometer Use W.Va. Program Gives Out Pedometers To Get More Residents Up And Moving LOGAN, W.Va., Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (AP) (AP) Howard Wooten and Leonard Hovis are old pals who share a history of heart problems. Now they share a daily walk, logging some 1,400 miles a year. Along with six other friends _ all with similar health problems _ Wooten and Hovis started walking on doctors' orders, and along the way became the poster boys for a push to get people exercising in the least healthy part of the state. In August, the West Virginia chapter of America On The Move distributed 902 pedometers and step-counting charts to residents of five southern counties who signed up for the program. Participants were asked to use the pedometers for six weeks, keep track of their steps and send in the results. The goal was to see if pedometers encourage people to walk more. Of all five counties involved, Logan took to the pedometers with the most enthusiasm _ more than a third of the participants were from there, including about 200 volunteers from Logan Regional Medical Center. "Many of them thought they did a lot of walking, and they didn't," said Carol Cole, the hospital's marketing director. "It was very eye-opening." According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, Logan is the most obese county in West Virginia. "If people here are going to improve their health, we're going to need to do a lot more in terms of prevention," said Shannon Meade, who helped coordinate the program on behalf of the Logan County Family Resource Network. Meade approached businesses, churches, even Girl Scout troops to drum up interest. As the groups involved plan a second phase of the program, they're focusing on Logan as an example of how to get rural residents with severe health problems up and moving. West Virginia On The Move Executive Director Sophia Werning argues that many people aren't aware that something as simple as walking can bring real benefits. Werning leads the state chapter of America On The Move, a Boston-based nonprofit that encourages people to take simple steps to improve their diet and exercise. "A lot of people have the idea that you need to get a personal trainer or you need to devote hours and hours a day to fitness, and they think, 'That's not for me,'" she said. Researchers looking at about 20 studies concluded that pedometers help people walk an additional mile each day, but only if they log their steps, according to the November issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "For a lot of people I've worked with, especially the sedentary and lower activity people, just having it on their hip is encouragement to do more," said Karen Croteau, a professor of exercise, health, and sport sciences at the University of Southern Maine, Gorham, whose research was included in the new report. Two years ago, when Wooten started walking with friends at Chief Logan State Park, his cholesterol level was over 280. Today, it's down to 120 and the 72-year-old insurance agent has lost 20 pounds. "My doctor says walking every day has been like a miracle pill for me," said Hovis, 67, a former Logan County clerk. The friends got pedometers through the program, and learned their daily walk added up to roughly four miles a day. Fed Takes Steps On Global Credit Crunch Will Set Up Temporary Auction Facility For Funds And Lines Of Credit Comment On This Post WASHINGTON, Dec., 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The quarter-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve Tuesday disappointed Wall Street, which pushed the Dow Jones industrial average down by 294 points. Investors had hoped for a bolder response to the growing housing and mortgage crisis in the United States. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Related Timeline Credit Crunch Feeling the squeeze? Here's a look at actions and statements from key players in Washington. Interactive Inside The Fed A history of the Federal Reserve, glossary of terms and a look at changing interest rates. Stories Stocks Plunge After Fed Cuts Rates Recession Fears Put World Markets At Risk • Interactive: U.S. Markets • Layoffs and Labor • The Federal Reserve (CBS/AP) The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it is coordinating with other central banks to deal with the global credit crunch. The central bank said it had reached an agreement with the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank to address what it termed "elevated pressures" in credit markets. The Fed said that it was creating a temporary auction facility to make funds available to banks and was also setting up lines of credit with the European Central Bank and the Swiss Central Bank that could be used for additional resources. "This is going to allow cash-strapped banks more freedom to lend money to both businesses and consumers, thereby easing or at least bringing some relief to the credit markets," CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Alexis Cristoforous told CBSNews.com. The Fed said that commercial banks would be able to bid at auction for funds that would be drawn from the Temporary Auction Facility. The money would be intended to help cash-strapped banks raise money needed to keep making loans to businesses and consumers. The action represented another step by the Fed to deal with a serious credit crunch stemming from the tightening of bank lending standards in the wake of multibillion dollar losses from a rising tide of defaults on mortgage loans. "What you have here is a backstop," Art Hogan, chief market analyst of Jefferies and Company, told CBS News' Mara Rubin. "You have an additional $40 billion in the credit system as available liquidity that doesn't necessarily have to be used, but at least you know it's there and psychologically, sometimes that is all you need to get the credit system working again. "This, on top of yesterday's move, which cut both the federal funds rate and the discount rate by a quarter point each, should buy the major banks some much needed time to get their financial house in order," says Cristoforous. That quarter-point rate cut disappointed Wall Street, which pushed the Dow Jones industrial average down by 294 points. Investors had hoped for a bolder response to the growing housing and mortgage crisis in the United States. What you have here is a backstop. analyst Art HoganThe Fed said all banks judged to be in generally sound financial condition by their Fed regional bank would be eligible to participate in the auctions for funds. The first auction of $20 billion was scheduled for next Monday, followed by another auction of $20 billion on Dec. 20. The third and fourth auctions will be on Jan. 14 and 28. The Fed said that the new auction process should "help promote the efficient dissemination of liquidity" when other lines of credit were "under stress." The experience gained from the four scheduled auctions would be "helpful in assessing the potential usefulness" of this new process to provide funds to U.S. banks, the central bank said. Trade Deal Opens Door To Chinese Tourists Agreement Means More Chinese Citizens Could Be Visiting, Helping American Business Comment On This Post NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson listens to Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi's speech during the Third China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue at Grand Epoch City in Xianghe, central China's Hubei province, southeast of Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Related Fast Facts China Learn about the people, economy and history. Stories Is China Banning U.S. Movies? China To Eliminate Trade Penalties (AP) Chinese citizens flush with cash from their booming economy will find it easier to vacation in the United States following a long-awaited agreement that the American travel industry hopes will bring in billions of dollars. The deal, signed Tuesday by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez in Beijing, will allow Chinese travel agencies to market packaged leisure tours to American destinations, and it will permit U.S. destinations to advertise directly to the Chinese public. With the number of Chinese who travel outside their homeland expected to nearly triple to 100 million people by 2020, an infusion of tourists to the U.S. could help American businesses. "Potentially in the next 10 years, they could blow out all our other markets," said Bruce Bommarito, vice president of international market development for the Travel Industry Association, a U.S. business group. Chinese travelers on average spend upward of $6,000 per visit to the U.S. - more than residents of any other nation - according to the Commerce Department's most recent calculations. Bommarito and other industry players have lobbied heavily for Tuesday's accord, which they believe could open the floodgates for Chinese travelers, who often prefer to book the kind of group tours the agreement will facilitate. While only 1 percent of Chinese who left the mainland last year headed to the U.S., a new study shows that many consider the U.S. their top vacation dream destination. In an October survey of 7,000 urban Chinese who were asked what country outside of Hong Kong and Macau they would choose to visit if they were unhampered by any practical considerations, the U.S. was the No. 1 choice, followed by France and Australia. Participants in the survey, paid for in part by the American travel industry and by the Commerce Department, were contacted by random telephone dial and were not told that the survey was American-sponsored. While any Chinese person able to obtain a U.S.-issued visa has for years been permitted to travel to America, perceived difficulties at U.S. consulates and misperceptions about visa rules have dissuaded many potential tourists, Bommarito said. Without the "approved destination status" that Tuesday's agreement confers, U.S. tourist hot spots were unable to open tourism offices in China or advertise directly to the Chinese public. A few cities and states, including Nevada and New York City, negotiated individually with the Chinese government for permission to sidestep some of those restrictions. Of course, Chinese residents will still need to obtain visas from the U.S. before they can visit, a process that many have found daunting. Consulates have dealt with concerns that some Chinese might not return home from their vacations. But according to the State Department, the process has already been getting somewhat easier for prospective visitors. One in 5 mainland applicants for a business or tourist visa were denied their request in fiscal year 2007, down from 1 in 4 the previous year. "China is so huge, and there are so many people traveling in such large numbers, and they like to travel in groups," said Deborah Harrison, senior vice president at Marriott International Inc. "They are also earning more money and they're able to spend it, and I think that destinations such as L.A. and New York and Washington and Las Vegas will really benefit." Marriott International Inc. has already launched a Chinese-language Web site and has opened 30 hotels in China, partly in an effort to increase brand awareness among the Chinese. Automakers' Suit On Gas Emissions Tossed Judge Says California Can Regulate Greenhouse Gases From Cars, Rejects Automaker's Suit (AP) A federal judge Wednesday rejected an automakers' lawsuit against California, saying the state has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Stocks Rebound On Fed Liquidity Plan Stocks Rise After Fed Unveils Plan To Work With Other Central Banks To Ease Credit Problems NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP) Stocks rose but came well off their highs Wednesday after a burst of enthusiasm dissipated over a Federal Reserve plan to work with other central banks to alleviate a global credit crisis. The Dow Jones industrials, which at one point had been up more than 270 points, rose about 60. The Fed said early Wednesday it had agreed with the European Central Bank and the central banks of England, Canada and Switzerland to confront what it called elevated pressures in the credit markets. The Fed said it will create a temporary auction facility to make funds available to banks and set up lines of credit with the European and Swiss central banks for additional resources. This move is the biggest concerted liquidity injection since the 2001 terrorist attacks and helped boost investor sentiment a day after the Fed disappointed Wall Street with a quarter-point cut in interest rates. Many investors had hoped for a half-point reduction to help the economy weather the credit and mortgage crisis. But the Fed's latest salvo didn't appear to assauge all of Wall Street's concerns about the spike in bad debt that has caused the credit markets to tighten in recent months, nor did it sew up all of investors' concerns about the nation's economic health. "There's still no certainty that we're out of the woods as far as the economy, and there's still a risk for recession," said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co. "We did get very positive news from the Fed and other banks chipping in to add liquidity into the system. But, the environment hasn't fundamentally changed that the worst is over for the financial system." He pointed out that the biggest beneficiary during a period of rate cuts are bank and brokerage stocks. However, the sector was under pressure Wednesday as investors worry they'll take further writedowns despite steps taken by the Fed. In early afternoon trading, the Dow, which plunged 294 points Tuesday, rose 63.81, or 0.48 percent, to 13,496.58. The blue chip index had risen as much as 271.75, or 2 percent, in early trading. Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 9