Eigenvalue of higher-order semipositone multi-point boundary value problems with derivatives (Q945258)

The authors consider the higher order \(m\)-point boundary value problem \[ (x^{(n)})(t)+\lambda f(t, x(t), x'(t), \cdots, x^{(n-2)}(t))=0, \quad t\in (0,1), \] \[ x^{(i)}(0)=0, \quad 0\leq i\leq n-3,\quad x^{(n-1)}(0)=\sum^{m-2}_{i=1}a_i x^{(n-1)}(\xi_i), \] \(x^{(n-2)}(1)=\sum^{m-2}_{i=1}b_i x^{(n-2)}(\xi_i)\), where \(0<\xi_1<\xi_2<\cdots<\xi_{m-2}<1\) with \(0<\sum^{m-2}_{i=1}a_i<1\) and \(0<\sum^{m-2}_{i=1}b_i<1\), \(f\in C[(0,1)\times \mathbb{R}^{n-1}, \mathbb{R}]\) satisfies \[ f(t,u_1, \dots, u_{n-1})\geq p(t) \text{ and } p\in L^1[(0,1), (0,+\infty)], \] and \(f\) may be singular at \(t=0\) and/or \(t=1\). He proves the existence of positive solutions by applying a fixed point theorem in cones. For earlier results, see \textit{R. Ma} and \textit{N. Castaneda} [J. Math. Appl. Anal. 256, 556--567 (2001; Zbl 0988.34009)].