Fig 1.

A. Experimental design. i.t.: intratracheal; NV: non-ventilated; PSV: pressure-support ventilation; BIVENT: biphasic positive airway pressure ventilation; Low effort: anaesthesia infusion was maintained to keep inspiratory effort low, according to oesophageal pressure decay; High effort: anaesthesia infusion was reduced to achieve high inspiratory effort according to oesophageal pressure decay (n = 7/group). B. Timeline of the experiments. i.t.: intratracheal; CFU: colony-forming unit; MV: mechanical ventilation; V_T: tidal volume; FiO₂: inspiratory fraction of oxygen; PEEP: positive end-expiratory pressure; CFU: colony-forming unit.