The researchers tested how well glucocorticoids could treat lung swelling caused by breathing in nitrogen dioxide in rats. They divided the rats into different groups and gave them different doses of glucocorticoids or saline. They measured lung swelling, blood enzyme levels, and certain proteins in the blood. The results showed that the rats treated with glucocorticoids had less lung swelling and lower levels of certain harmful proteins compared to the rats exposed to nitrogen dioxide without treatment. This suggests that glucocorticoids may be effective in treating lung swelling caused by nitrogen dioxide exposure.