Abstract: To predict the tenderness of cooked meat, the concentrations of certain trace elements such as copper, cobalt, iron, zinc, calcium, selenium and silicon and sometimes cadmium and lead in uncooked meat muscle are measured in samples taken from the carcass of the animals and samples from the same muscle are cooked and rated by a sensory taste panel (STR scores). A formula is obtained by multiple linear regression of the data using the concentrations of trace elements as the independent variables and STR as the dependent variable. To grade a carcass the concentrations of measured trace elements are entered into the formula and a predicted STR is calculated. The ratio of the concentration of iron to zinc provides an especially suitable independent variable because of its high correlation with tenderness and the ease of measuring zinc and iron accurately.

Abstract: The velocity of a fluid flowing through a flow channel, relative to the flow channel, is measured by passing parallel rays of light through the fluid perpendicular to the flow and through an artificially-introduced transfer function device such as a grating or double reflective mirror, and then focusing the light on a photodetector. The basic principle by which embodiments of the invention operate involves the spatial convolution of the light intensity pattern established by the artificially-introduced transfer function with the flowing stream. The transfer function is associated with a known spatial alteration of the light beam. The light intensity pattern resulting from variations in the properties of the flowing stream is characterized by fluctuations which are transported with the flow velocity. These variations of the flowing stream are manifested as localized changes in density, and absorptivity and reflectivity of the light as it traverses the flow channel.