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    PR # 31525                                                                   
     We propose a deep ASCA observation of the nearby Sb galaxy NGC 4736.        
     These observations will, for the first time, provide detailed X-ray s       
     pectral information relating to the starburst activity evident in the       
      nucleus of this galaxy (which has a LINER spectrum) and also in a pr       
     ominent circumnuclear ring of HII regions.  The ASCA data will be use       
     d, together with recent ROSAT observations and in conjunction with ra       
     dio, infrared and optical measurements, to investigate the evolutiona       
     ry state of the starbursts in NGC 4736.  We will also search for a ha       
     rd power-law spectral component indicative of a hidden AGN.                 
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
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