<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def _apply_conv(self, inputs, w):
 """Apply a convolution operation on `inputs` using variable `w`. Args: inputs: A Tensor of shape `data_format` and of type `tf.float16`, `tf.bfloat16` or `tf.float32`. w: A weight matrix of the same type as `inputs`. Returns: outputs: The result of the convolution operation on `inputs`. """

    outputs = tf.nn.convolution(inputs, w, strides=self._stride,
                                padding=self._conv_op_padding,
                                dilation_rate=self._rate,
                                data_format=self._data_format)
    return outputs