if (experiment == null) return null;
if (experiment == null || !usingExperiment) return null;
  protected Object getNodePropertyValue(String nodeName, String propertyName) {    if (experiment == null) return null;    HostComponent[] hosts = experiment.getHostComponents();    for (int i = 0; i < hosts.length; i++) {      NodeComponent[] nodes = hosts[i].getNodes();      for (int j = 0; j < nodes.length; j++) {        String s = nodes[j].getShortName();        if (s.equals(nodeName))          return getPropertyValue(nodes[j], propertyName);      }    }    return null;  }