A 29-year-old man with AIDS presents with a painful, red, swollen area on top of his shin, which is warm to the touch. He has a fever, tachypnea, and tachycardia, and is hospitalized and started on IV antibiotics. His condition progresses rapidly to septicemia and septic shock. He is transported to the ICU, intubated, and started on mechanical ventilation. A Swan-Ganz catheter is inserted to monitor pulmonary hemodynamics and lung fluid balance. Which of the following conditions will cause a decrease in PVR?
a. Alveolar hypoxia
b. Decreased pH in the pulmonary artery
c. Increased cardiac output
d. Inflation of the lungs to total lung capacity
e. Sympathetic stimulation of the pulmonary vessels