On existence theorems of positive solutions to nonlinear singular differential equations (Q2383785)

The authors state and prove necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of positive solutions to the nonlocal three-point boundary value problem \[ \begin{aligned} u'' + f(t, u(t)) = 0, &\quad 0 < t < 1, \\ u(0) = a u(\eta), \;u(1) = 0, &\quad 0 < a < 1, \;0 < \eta < 1. \end{aligned} \] They also state and prove that a given sequence of iterates, which are defined through integrals, converge to the solution. While, as the authors claim, their sequence of iterations can begin with easily recognizable functions (e.g. \(h(t) = 1 - t\)), it should be noted that the sequence of iterates quickly become intractable. This paper is very technical and requires careful reading. It is a generalization of an earlier work by the same authors [Appl. Math. Comput. 186, No. 1, 404--413 (2007; Zbl 1128.34010)]. As with their previous paper, the editing was very poor but the results are new and interesting. Their results will be useful to researchers studying the existence and uniqueness of nonlocal three-point boundary value problems.