ceil

<?php

add_action( 'wp_ajax_thmloadmore', 'thm_load_more_posts' );
add_action( 'wp_ajax_nopriv_thmloadmore', 'thm_load_more_posts' );
function thm_load_more_posts() {
    global $wpdb; # this is how you get access to the database

    $output     = '';
    $posts      = 0;
    $paged      = 1;
    $number     = 3;
    $perpage    = $show_author = $show_date = $show_category = $order = $category = $number = $layout = '';

    if(isset( $_POST['perpage'] )){ $perpage = $_POST['perpage']; }

    if(isset( $_POST['show_author'] )){ $show_author = $_POST['show_author']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['show_date'] )){ $show_date = $_POST['show_date']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['show_category'] )){ $show_category = $_POST['show_category']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['order'] )){ $order = $_POST['order']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['category'] )){ $category = $_POST['category']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['perpage'] )){ $number = $_POST['perpage']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['paged'] )){ $paged = $_POST['paged']; }
    if(isset( $_POST['layout'] )){ $layout = $_POST['layout']; }
    $offset = $_POST['offset'];

    if (isset($category) && $category!='') {
        $idObj  = get_category_by_slug( $category );
        if (isset($idObj) && $idObj!='') {
            $idObj  = get_category_by_slug( $category );
            $cat_id = $idObj->term_id;
            $args = array(
                'category'          => $cat_id,
                'orderby'           => 'meta_value_num',
                // 'meta_key'           => 'themeum_highlight',
                'order'             => 'DESC',
                'posts_per_page'    => $number,
                'paged'             =>ceil($paged)
            );
            $posts = get_posts($args);
        }else{
            echo "Please Enter a valid category name";
            $args = 0;
        }
    }else{
        $args = array(
            'order'             => 'DESC',
            'orderby'           => 'meta_value_num',
            // 'meta_key'           => 'themeum_highlight',
            'posts_per_page'    => $number,
            'paged'             =>ceil($paged)
        );
        $posts = get_posts($args);
    }


    if(count($posts)>0){

        if( $layout == 'style1' ){
            foreach ($posts as $key=>$post): setup_postdata($post);

                $output .= '<div class="themeum-latest-item">';
                $output .= '<div class="all-highlights-style2-item clearfix">';
                if ( has_post_thumbnail($post->ID) ) {
                    $output .= '<div class="themeum-overlay-wrap highlight-post-thumb yes">';
                        $output .= '<a href="'.get_permalink($post->ID).'">'.get_the_post_thumbnail($post->ID, 'full', array('class' => 'img-responsive')).'</a>';
                    $output .= '</div>';//col-sm-4

                    $output .= '<div class="highlight-post-content">';
                        if ( $show_category == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="entry-category">';
                            $output .= get_the_category_list(' ', '', $post->ID);
                            $output .= '</span>';
                        }
                        $output .= '<h3 class="entry-title"><a href="'.get_permalink($post->ID).'">'. get_the_title($post->ID) .'</a></h3>';

                        if ( $show_author == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="author">'.__('By ', 'calcio').''.get_the_author_link().'</span>';
                        }
                        if ( $show_date == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="entry-date">';
                            $output .= get_the_date('d M Y', $post->ID);
                            $output .= '</span>';
                        }

                    $output .= '</div>';//col-sm-8

                }else {
                    $output .= '<div class="col-sm-12 latest-post-intro">';
                        if ( $show_category == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="entry-category">';
                            $output .= get_the_category_list(', ', '', $post->ID);
                            $output .= '</span>';
                        }
                        $output .= '<h3 class="entry-title"><a href="'.get_permalink($post->ID).'">'. get_the_title($post->ID) .'</a></h3>';


                        if ( $show_author == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="author">'.__('By ', 'calcio').''.get_the_author_link().'</span>';
                        }
                        if ( $show_date == 'yes'){
                            $output .= '<span class="entry-date">';
                            $output .= get_the_date('d M Y', $post->ID);
                            $output .= '</span>';
                        }

                    $output .= '</div>';//col-sm-8
                }
                $j++;
                $output .= '</div>';
                $output .= '</div>';

            endforeach;
        }



        wp_reset_postdata();

    }

    echo $output;

    wp_die(); # die
}