int stringToAppendedAscii(String word) {

  //println("inputString: " + word);
  ArrayList intList = new ArrayList();
  for (int i = 0; i < word.length(); i++) {

    int asciiValue = (int) word.charAt(i);
    intList.add(asciiValue);
  }

  StringBuffer buff = new StringBuffer();
  for (int i = 0; i < intList.size(); i++) {
    buff.append(intList.get(i));
  }

  int ret = Integer.parseInt(buff.toString());

  return ret;
}