TNF and atrial fibrillation: As shown in Appendix Fig. S9, we calculated Spearman correlation coefficients (Fisher’s Z) between the Composite SM and S. aureus-induced IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, and IFN-γ responses in each cohort (Cohort_AF, Cohort_EU1, and Cohort_EU2), then performed a meta-analysis on these estimates.