Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/umls/id/C0205265
HL7V3.0: <p><b>Description:</b>Indicates that a name part is just an initial. Initials do not imply a trailing period since this would not work with non-Latin scripts. In some languages, initials may consist of more than one letter, e.g., "Ph" could stand for "Philippe" or "Th" For "Thomas".</p>