It is possible to remove single characters or sections from a string using
SED too; I tend to do this,
 
If you have a sessnum of 1,483
 
 
sessnum=$(echo ${sessnum} | sed -e 's/,//g')
 
 
will remove the ','
 
The sed command in that line substitutes everything after the first '/' with
everything after the second '/' upto the third '/'
 
 
Matt.