On stability of delay equations with positive and negative coefficients with applications (Q2418828)

The paper is motivated by the search for the stability by the first approximation of two Mackey-Glass-type equations, namely \[ \dot{x}(t) = r(t)\left[\beta\frac{x(g(t))}{1+x^n(h(t))}-\gamma x(h(t))\right] \] and \[ \dot{x}(t) = r(t)\left[\beta\frac{x(g(t))}{1+x^n(h(t))}-\gamma x(t)\right] \] with \(g(t)\leq t\), \(h(t)\leq t\). The starting point is the stability of \[\dot{x}(t) + a(t)x(h(t))-b(t)x(g(t))=0\ ,\ a(t)\geq b(t)\geq 0 \] and some generalizations -- nevertheless linear equations (with several lumped delays and with distributed delays; the integro-differential equations are in fact a special case of the distributed delays case, with the Stieltjes measure reduced to its absolutely continuous component. Examples are computed and some open problems are stated.