Existence and uniqueness of solutions for a second order differential equation with integral boundary conditions (Q984289)

The authors consider the second order differential equation. \[ (\phi(u'(t)))'+f(t,u(t),u'(t))=0, \quad t \in (0,1) \] coupled with the integral boundary conditions \[ u(0)-k_1\,u'(0)=\int_0^1{h_1(u(s))\, ds}, \quad u(1)+k_2\,u'(1)=\int_0^1h_2(u(s))\, ds. \] Here, \(f\), \(h_0\) and \(h_1\) are continuous functions, \(k_1\) and \(k_2\) are two nonnegative constants, and \(\phi\) is a continuous and strictly increasing function such that \(\phi(0)=0\) and \(\phi(R)=R\). By assuming the existence of a pair of well ordered lower and upper solutions and a Nagumo condition on the function \(f\), they deduce the existence of at least one solution lying between both functions. The proof follows from the construction of a suitable truncation problem and the application of the Leray-Schauder degree. Under the additional assumption that \(f_x <-l<0\) for some positive constant \(l\), they prove that the obtained solution is unique.