Parasympathetic nervous system act in a complementary way increasing or slowing the heart rate. In this context, the vagus nerve acts on sinoatrial node slowing its conduction thus actively modulating vagal tone accordingly. This modulation is mediated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and downstream changes to ionic currents and calcium of heart cells. The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in heart rate regulation by modulating the response of sinoatrial node, vagal tone can be quantified by investigating heart rate modulation induced by vagal tone changes. As a general consideration, increased vagal tone (and thus vagal action) is associated with a diminished and more
Longitude of the ascending node it is not possible to tell which node is ascending and which is descending. In this case the orbital parameter which is recorded is the longitude of the node, Ω, which is the longitude of whichever node has a longitude between 0 and 180 degrees. In astrodynamics, the longitude of the ascending node can be calculated from the specific relative angular momentum vector h as follows: Here, n=<"n", "n", "n"> is a vector pointing towards the ascending node. The reference plane is assumed to be the "xy"-plane, and the origin of longitude is taken to be the positive "x"-axis. k