I'm expecting it's some sort of 'air flow meter'. Its similar (but a lot bigger!) to what I see in car manifolds/intake systems.

If it is, its also possible that the wire/ribbon in the centre, may be, platinum, maybe. Just maybe....



They heat up that wire with electricity, the air rushing past it cools it down, this gives it a certain resistance and that's measurable to a electrical gauge, they jiggle the two valves to set the amount of air they want going past it.