We study the existence and nonexistence of positive solutions of nonlinear periodic boundary value problems u '' + a(t)u = lambda b(t)f(u), a.e. t is an element of [0, T], u(0) = u(T), u'(0) = u'(T), where b>0, a>0 and the Green's function G(t, s) of the linear problem u '' + a(t)u = 0, a.e. t is an element of [0, T], u(0) = u(T), u'(0) = u'(T) may change sign on [0, T] x [0, T]. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.